Mark Benson

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Mark Richard Benson, born 6 July 1958 in Shoreham-by-Sea, England, is a former cricketer and international umpire. A left-handed batsman, he played for Kent from 1980 to 1995, scoring over 18,000 first-class runs with 48 centuries. He captained Kent in 1991, leading them to a runners-up finish in the County Championship in 1992 and the Sunday League title in 1995, and he once scored 257 against Hampshire in 1991. Benson played one Test for England in 1986 against India and one ODI in 1986 against New Zealand, before retiring from playing due to a knee injury. His father, Frank, played cricket for Ghana.

After retiring as a player, Benson became a highly regarded umpire. He began first-class umpiring in 1997 and stood in international matches from 2004. He was promoted to the ICC Elite Panel in 2006 and officiated in Tests, ODIs, and Twenty20 Internationals, including the 2007 World Twenty20 final. He endured a heart scare in 2006 and was involved in a notable referral incident in 2008. In 2009 he briefly left a Test due to illness amid debate over the referral system; the ICC said he was ill. He retired from international umpiring in 2010 and finally retired from all umpiring in January 2016 due to a back injury.