Winston Keithroy Matthew Benjamin (born 31 December 1964) is a former

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

n cricketer who played 21

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and 85

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. He is also the father of world champion athlete

Rai Benjamin Rai Benjamin (born July 27, 1997) is an American professional hurdler and sprinter specializing in the 400 m and 400 m hurdles. He is the second fastest man in history in the 400 m hurdles with a personal best time of 46.17 ...

Domestic career

Benjamin originally burst on the scene in 1985 when he was given a Viv Richards scholarship to England in 1985. He played at

Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club (often called Chester BH) is a cricket club that is based in Boughton, Chester, England. The club has four senior XIs playing Saturday sides that compete in the Cheshire County Cricket League of which the 1s ...

in the highly rated Liverpool Competition and finished the season with 106 wickets at an average of 7.57, a best of 8-20 and five or more wickets on eleven occasions. Chester Boughton Hall finished the season as champions. This drew the attention of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

where he played from 1986 to 1993 before moving to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

from 1994 to 1996.

International career

He made his Test debut against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

on the 1987–88 tour. After eight Tests he was left out of the team until 1993, when he played consistently for two years, but he was dropped again after Australia's 1994–95 tour and never returned to the side. Benjamin took 39 wickets at an average of 19.30 in his first 11 Tests, though his final ten appearances yielded 22 scalps at 40.68. He played more regularly in the shorter format of the game, and was a fixture in the side from his debut against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

in 1986–87 until West Indies' 1995 tour of England.

Coaching career

After his playing career at the highest level was over, he acted as coach for the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

, but was sacked in June 2005. Now he is a coach for a leeward island (Antigua) at the Clare Hall Secondary School.
Leewards sack Benjamin, 1 July 2005, accessed 16 March 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Winston 1964 births Living people Antigua and Barbuda cricketers West Indies Test cricketers West Indies One Day International cricketers Hampshire cricketers Leeward Islands cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Commonwealth Games competitors for Antigua and Barbuda Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Cheshire cricketers