WilhelminaBoswel: added initial data w/ sources

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added initial data w/ sources

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{{short description|South African cricketer and coach (born 1974)}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Dale Benkenstein
| image = Benkenstein.gif
| country = South Africa
| full_name = Dale Martin Benkenstein
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|6|9|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Harare|Salisbury]], [[Rhodesia]]
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling = Right arm [[Medium pace bowling|medium]], [[off break]]
| family = [[Martin Benkenstein]] (father)<br>[[Luc Benkenstein]] (son)
| international = true
| odidebutdate = 25 October
| odidebutyear = 1998
| odidebutagainst = England
| odicap = 51
| lastodidate = 6 October
| lastodiyear = 2002
| lastodiagainst = Bangladesh
| odishirt =
| club1 = [[KwaZulu-Natal cricket team|Natal]]
| year1 = 1993–2004
| club2 = [[Dolphins cricket team|Dolphins]]
| year2 = 2004–2010
| club3 = [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]]
| year3 = 2005–2014
| columns = 4
| column1 = [[One Day International|ODI]]
| matches1 = 23
| runs1 = 305
| bat avg1 = 17.94
| 100s/50s1 = 0/1
| top score1 = 69
| deliveries1 = 65
| wickets1 = 4
| bowl avg1 = 11.00
| fivefor1 = 0
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 3/5
| catches/stumpings1 = 3/–
| column2 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| matches2 = 264
| runs2 = 15,962
| bat avg2 = 44.21
| 100s/50s2 = 38/86
| top score2 = 259
| deliveries2 = 7,577
| wickets2 = 100
| bowl avg2 = 36.15
| fivefor2 = 0
| tenfor2 = 0
| best bowling2 = 4/16
| catches/stumpings2 = 169/–
| column3 = [[List A cricket|LA]]
| matches3 = 300
| runs3 = 7,308
| bat avg3 = 35.13
| 100s/50s3 = 1/44
| top score3 = 107[[not out|*]]
| deliveries3 = 3,197
| wickets3 = 87
| bowl avg3 = 30.81
| fivefor3 = 0
| tenfor3 = 0
| best bowling3 = 4/16
| catches/stumpings3 = 113/–
| column4 = [[Twenty20|T20]]
| matches4 = 99
| runs4 = 1,769
| bat avg4 = 24.23
| 100s/50s4 = 0/6
| top score4 = 60
| deliveries4 = 468
| wickets4 = 21
| bowl avg4 = 27.57
| fivefor4 = 0
| tenfor4 = 0
| best bowling4 = 3/10
| catches/stumpings4 = 32/–
| date = 13 February
| year = 2014
| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3934/3934.html CricketArchive
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry| {{RSA}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Cricket]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1998 Commonwealth Games|1998 Kuala Lumpur]]|[[Cricket at the 1998 Commonwealth Games|List-A cricket]]}}
}}

'''Dale Martin Benkenstein''' (born 9 June 1974) is a South African former [[cricket]]er who was an all-rounder. He is also a former first-team coach at [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] and [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]. Benkenstein was a member of the South Africa team that won the [[1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy]].

==Early life==
Benkenstein was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now [[Harare]], Zimbabwe), the son of [[Martin Benkenstein]], who had played for Rhodesia in the [[SuperSport Series|Currie Cup]] in the 1970s. In 1980, around the time of Zimbabwean independence, Martin moved his family to [[Durban]], South Africa. There, Benkenstein attended [[Durban Preparatory High School]], [[Durban High School]] and [[Michaelhouse]] schools. He captained the SA Schools side in 1992, and led the SA Colts team to the West Indies in the same year.<ref name="wisden-coy" />

==Domestic career==
===Natal===
Benkenstein made his debut at the age of 18 for [[KwaZulu-Natal cricket team|Natal]] in the 1993/94 season, playing under the tutelage of [[Malcolm Marshall]]. Marshall's analytical captaincy style made an impression on the young Benkenstein, who was later quoted as saying "In my eyes, he took the art of captaincy to another level."<ref name="wisden-coy" /> When Marshall left Natal at the end of the 1996 season, Benkenstein, still only 22, was selected to succeed him as captain. While he got off to an unsteady start as captain, with Natal being heavily defeated by [[Border cricket team|Border]] in his first game at the helm, he later recovered and led the team to win both the [[first class cricket|four-day]] and [[one day cricket|one-day]] domestic competitions.<ref name="wisden-coy" />

===Durham===
When Benkenstein joined Durham for the 2005 season, he collected the club's player of the year award during his first attempt. During this time he also filled in as skipper for the absent [[Mike Hussey]] and [[Paul Collingwood]]. He went on to score 1,427 runs, which was a run scoring record at Durham until his mark was overtaken by [[Michael Di Venuto]] in 2009.<ref name="durhamtimes" />

Dale has been quoted as to saying 2008 may be his last season in the sport as he wants to spend more time with his wife Jacqueline and children in [[Consett]].

==International career==
Benkenstein had represented his country many times as a junior, including a stint as captain of the South African Schools side, and in the under-19 development team. Benkenstein's senior ODI debut for South Africa came against [[English cricket team|England]] at [[Dhaka]] in 1998/99, when the teams were playing in the quarter-final of the [[Wills International Cup]]. Despite some useful contributions, including 69 against the [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies]] at [[Cape Town]] in 1998<ref name="5thODI" /> and 3/5 against [[Kenya cricket team|Kenya]] in the 2002/03 [[ICC Champions Trophy]] tournament,<ref name="9thODI" /> he never managed to establish himself as a permanent member of the team. Benkenstein later admitted that he had not taken full advantage of the opportunities that came his way at the international level.<ref name="cricinfo" />

== Coaching career ==
Benkenstein was named coach of [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]] in February 2014, having worked as a batting coach for the [[South Africa]]n side [[Dolphins (South African cricket team)|Dolphins]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/will-macpherson-does-international-experience-make-or-break-a-coach-880195|title=Does international experience make or break a coach?|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/dale-benkenstein-appointed-as-hampshire-coach-718711|title=Benkenstein appointed as Hampshire coach|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref> He left his coaching role at Hampshire in July 2016 due to family reasons.<ref>{{cite news |title=Benkenstein leaves Hampshire for family reasons |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2016/content/story/1038281.html |work=ESPNcricinfo |publisher=ESPN Sports Media |date=23 July 2016 |access-date=23 July 2016 }}</ref> After returning to South Africa he became head coach at [[Hilton College (South Africa)|Hilton College]] where he worked with 2019 Hilton [[head boy]], and future Hampshire County Cricket Club bowler, [[John Turner (cricketer, born 2001)|John Turner]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/cricket/overseas-players-likely-be-denied-southern-premier-cricket-league-debut-2020-2844450|title=The overseas players likely to be denied a Southern Premier Cricket League debut in 2020|website=Portsmouth.co.uk|access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kzn10.com/6009-2/|title=Cricket talent in abundance coming from the Family of @KZN10com Schools &#124|website=Kzn10.cxom|access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref>

In May 2021, Benkenstein joined [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] as batting coach on a short-term contract.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cricket.lancashirecricket.co.uk/news/2021-news/dale-benkenstein-named-lancashire-batting-coach/|title=Dale Benkenstein named Lancashire Batting Coach|website=Lancashire CCC|date=4 May 2021|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref> In November 2021 he was named head coach of [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]] on a three-year contract.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59475298|title=Dale Benkenstein: Gloucestershire name ex-South Africa all-rounder as head coach on three-year deal|publisher=BBC Sport|date=30 November 2021|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref>

He was appointed head coach of Lancashire in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dale Benkenstein appointed Lancashire men's Head Coach |url=https://cricket.lancashirecricket.co.uk/news/2023-news/dale-benkenstein-appointed-lancashire-men-s-head-coach/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Lancashire County Cricket Club |language=en-gb}}</ref> Benkenstein left the role by mutual consent in May 2025, with the club seventh in division two of the County Championship at the halfway point of the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/cqj7wk990evo|title=Head coach Benkenstein leaves struggling Lancashire|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=28 May 2025}}</ref>

In March 2026, Benkenstein was appointed as a batting consultant at Durham.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/ce3dn6ge3qro|title=Benkenstein back at Durham as batting consultant|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=1 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.durhamcricket.co.uk/news-and-media/dale-benkenstein-appointed-mens-batting-consultant/|title=Dale Benkenstein appointed Men's Batting Consultant|publisher=Durham County Cricket Club|accessdate=1 April 2026}}</ref>

==Awards==
Benkenstein was named one of the [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year]] in 2009, based on his work with Durham in the English county championship.<ref name="wisden-coy" />

==Style==
Benkenstein was a right-handed batsman, and a right-arm off-break or right-arm medium pace bowler.<ref name="cricinfo" />

==Career best performances==
''Updated 19 July 2011''
{|class=wikitable style="font-size:90%"
|-
!|
! colspan="4"|Batting
! colspan="4"|Bowling
|-
!
!Score
!Fixture
!Venue
!Season
!Score
!Fixture
!Venue
!Season
|-
|[[One Day International|ODI]]
| style="text-align:center;"|69
|[[South Africa national cricket team|South Africa]] v [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies]]
|[[Newlands Cricket Ground|Cape Town]]
| style="text-align:center;"|1999
| style="text-align:center;"|3–5
|[[South Africa national cricket team|South Africa]] v [[Kenya national cricket team|Kenya]]
|[[R. Premadasa Stadium|Colombo (RPS)]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2002
|-
|[[First-class cricket|FC]]
| style="text-align:center;"|259
|[[KwaZulu-Natal cricket team|KwaZulu-Natal]] v [[Northerns cricket team|Northerns]]
|[[Kingsmead Cricket Ground|Durban]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| style="text-align:center;"|4–16
|[[Dolphins cricket team|Dolphins]] v [[Warriors (cricket team)|Warriors]]
|[[Kingsmead Cricket Ground|Durban]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
|-
|[[List A cricket|LA]]
| style="text-align:center;"|107*
|[[KwaZulu-Natal cricket team|Natal]] v [[North West cricket team|North West]]
|Fochville
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| style="text-align:center;"|4–16
|[[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] v [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]]
|[[Riverside Ground|Chester-le-Street]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
|-
|[[Twenty20 cricket|T20]]
| style="text-align:center;"|60
|[[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] v [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]]
|[[Riverside Ground|Chester-le-Street]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2011
| style="text-align:center;"|3–10
|[[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] v [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]]
|[[Headingley Cricket Ground|Leeds]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
|}

==References==
<references>
<ref name="cricinfo">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/44070.html|title=Dale Benkenstein|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=2009-09-20}}</ref>
<ref name="wisden-coy">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/398684.html|title=Wisden Cricketer of the Year – Dale Benkenstein|last=Westerby|first=John|date=8 April 2009|publisher=Wisden|access-date=2009-09-20}}</ref>
<ref name="5thODI">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64607.html|title=5th ODI: South Africa v West Indies at Cape Town, Feb 2, 1999|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=2009-09-20}}</ref>
<ref name="9thODI">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66188.html|title=9th Match: Kenya v South Africa at Colombo (RPS), Sep 20, 2002|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=2009-09-20}}</ref>
<ref name="durhamtimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.durhamtimes.co.uk/sport/4630065.Hampshire_v_Durham__1st_day__tea_/|title=Another landmark|last=Wellock|first=Tim|date=15 September 2009|work=Durham Times|access-date=2009-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005175836/http://www.durhamtimes.co.uk/sport/4630065.Hampshire_v_Durham__1st_day__tea_/|archive-date=5 October 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
</references>

==External links==
* {{ESPNcricinfo|id=44070}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|
|before=[[Giles White]]
|title=Hampshire cricket coach
|years=2014–2016
|after=[[Craig White]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{South Africa Squad 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy}}
{{South Africa Squad 1999 Cricket World Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benkenstein, Dale}}
[[Category:Afrikaner people]]
[[Category:White Rhodesian people]]
[[Category:Zimbabwean emigrants to South Africa]]
[[Category:South African cricketers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Michaelhouse]]
[[Category:Alumni of Highbury Preparatory School]]
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:South Africa One Day International cricketers]]
[[Category:KwaZulu-Natal cricketers]]
[[Category:Dolphins (South African cricket team) players]]
[[Category:21st-century South African sportsmen]]
[[Category:Durham cricketers]]
[[Category:South African expatriate cricketers in England]]
[[Category:Durham cricket captains]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa]]
[[Category:Delhi Giants cricketers]]
[[Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Harare]]
[[Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers]]
[[Category:South African cricket coaches]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cricket]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]

Dale Benkenstein - Revision history

WilhelminaBoswel: added initial data w/ sources