Mark Benson set to make statement on Test exit

10 April 2012

Mark Benson's future as a top-level umpire is expected to be clarified following dialogue with his International Cricket Council bosses.

Benson, 51, quit the second Test between Australia and West Indies after the first day of five without a definitive reason being given.

He has arrived back in the UK and has been in talks with ICC umpires chief Vince van der Bijl today - the world governing body expect him to make a statement within the next 36 hours.

Although the ICC have maintained former England batsman Benson withdrew from duty due to health reasons, there have been suggestions he was upset with the implementation of the umpire decision review system during the opening day in Adelaide.

But asked whether the sole reason was health, ICC general manager Dave Richardson told Sky Sports News: "We can categorically say that."

Of reports anger at the referral system had caused the walk-out, he added: "It's totally inaccurate."

Benson has a recent history of health problems - he was due to stand in the first four matches of India's one-day series against Australia, which began in late October, but failed to make the field in any match due to high blood pressure and stomach problems.

"What we can say without speaking to mark himself is that he quit the Test for a combination of health and pressure problems," Richardson added.
"Coping with a very pressured job proved too much for him."

Whatever Benson reveals in the aftermath of his departure, it is hard to imagine him continuing as an elite ICC official.

"It's going to be up to him," Richardson continued.

"But we are only able to contract a certain number of umpires and only if they are up to the job."

Controversy engulfed the opening day between the Aussies and Chris Gayle's tourists when Benson twice ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul not out following appeals for caught behind.

Asad Rauf, who was adjudicating as television umpire, upheld Benson's first ruling, much to the displeasure of the bowler Doug Bollinger and Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

However, Benson's second decision was overruled despite there being no clear evidence of contact with the bat from the 'Hot Spot' technology employed in the decision-review process.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in