Winston Benjamin, a journey full of ups and downs

Winston Benjamin is an Antiguan cricketer who represented his nation for 21 Test and 85 One Day International matches. Benjamin made his debut against India at the age of 23. Although he was not tall as other West Indian bowlers, he was able to trouble batsmen by his snapping action.

He called it a day soon and ended up taking 61 wickets from 21 Tests, but observers would agree that he had the potential to last longer. Interestingly, he was selected in the side as a bowler but he was also known to hit the ball out of the park and utilized the number 8 spot very effectively.

After Cricket Journey

Benjamin currently functions as a one of many staff at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium where he fixes boundary boards and sight screens at a daily wage of $70. He describes his job as “Honest’s day’s work for an honest dollar.”

Earlier, he used to head all the working but now, he works under a supervisor and feels that people around don’t care much as who is he. In an interview with Indian Express, he said, “There was a time a few years ago when I used to be in-charge of this. But now I work for someone. It doesn’t bother me. Guys here don’t care who I am. So I’m like ‘pay me for what I’m worth and I’m off’.”

Starting his career at an age of 23 and ending at 30 is always disheartening for ones who give their heart and soul. Being passionate about playing sport, Benjamin last played in the year 1995 after which he had a feeling of “unemployment”.

To earn a living, he used to fix boundary boards at Antigua which were not electronic then and had to be mounted on wooden stands for International fixtures. Often he used to see his teammates doing practice drills and he being on sidelines working on boundary boards.

“Playing for West Indies never fazed me or changed who I was. Back then, the WICB would pay you 30 percent of what you’d earned throughout as part of a provident fund when you retired. I only played a handful of Tests and there wasn’t a lot in the kitty. So I needed a job and a man got to do what a man got to do. And now I still have two kids who I need to put through university and every dollar counts.” he said.

Scenario of West Indies Dressing Room then

He recalls entering a West Indian dressing room steeped in a hierarchy, where younger players had to wait their turn to find a spot and an incident where he was falsely accused of a serious misdemeanor.

“And the senior cricketer who committed it was standing right there. I told him, ‘how can you let them crucify a young kid and you are ok with this?’ So I named him and that turned all the senior players against me,” said Benjamin.

“I learned a lot from that incident and when Curtly Ambrose (an All Saints classmate) joined the ranks, I tried to mentor him and advise him as to what it was all about. And that you need to be careful,” he added.

Defined his role while being a part of playing XI

After being picked for West Indies, he became the fifth fast bowler after Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh. However, he came into limelight after the retirement of Garner and Holding. But while revealing a frosty relationship with compatriot Richie Richardson, he also laments often being under-bowled and made to play a role that he hated, that of a supporting cast.

“I would play a Test match and bowl 7 overs or 2 overs in a Test innings. I played against Australia and got two wickets, (David) Boon and Mark Waugh in three overs and I was removed from the attack. I never got the new ball and that chance to really express myself. So it’s always the old ball. It’s always, come and break a partnership, and it hurts but that was my role and I learned to deal with it,” he concluded.