Benkenstein says Durham have the Will to succeed

Sep 30 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

DALE Benkenstein has just become the first Durham captain to win the County Championship but, in an exclusive interview with Chief sports writer Luke Edwards, he explains why it should be his final act as skipper.

DALE Benkenstein is feeling jaded. He has been celebrating the county’s title triumph all weekend and while he would have preferred to have slept off the excess of the day and night before his young family had other ideas.

But the Durham captain’s tiredness does not just stem from a weekend of parties to mark the club’s finest achievement as a first class county.

It is, at 34, with three children and with more than a decade of leading cricket teams behind him, the cumulative effects of a glittering cricket career which have drained the energy out of Durham’s inspirational skipper and with it his enthusiasm to lead the side again next season.

Benkenstein wants to quit at the top and they do not come any higher than the County Championship title, Durham and his second trophy in as many years following last season’s Friends Provident Trophy success.

While he has no wish to end his playing career and intends to continue to play for Durham for some time yet, he fears he no longer has the drive and determination to continue to do the captain’s job he has cherished for the last three years.

“Nothing has actually been decided for definite, but I’m pretty sure in my own mind that the time is right for me to step down,” said Benkenstein ahead of the team’s end of season award dinner last night. “I’ve not spoken to the club about it yet, but that’s how I feel.

“Whatever happens, though, has to be right for Durham. It has to be something the club agrees with. All I want to do is make sure Durham continue to progress and I think that will be better done without me as captain.

“I haven’t said for certain that I won’t carry on because the club may decide they would like me to do it for another year, but my advice to them will be to give it to Will Smith. I think it’s the right time and we have a great opportunity to give the job to Will. He has all the right character traits to be an excellent captain and he has the ability to become an excellent cricketer.

“I’m not just talking about Durham. I think Will could, over the next three or four years, not only go on to play for England, but also captain them. He has that potential and I think Durham have a responsibility to English cricket to help him realise that potential.

“He is at an age where cricket means everything to him. He’s hungry and he is determined. I was like that when I was 22 and made the captain of Natal so I can recognise the signs. He would enjoy the job and he will do a good job.

“I don’t quite have that same hunger anymore. I’m 34 and I’ve got three kids. I’m trying to be a parent, a captain and a cricketer. It’s hard work and it has taken it out of me. This isn’t something I’ve decided in the last few weeks at the end of a tiring season. I’ve been thinking about this for months now which is why I think it’s the right outcome.

“The captain’s job is an extremely demanding one and I don’t want to be still doing the job when it comes to the stage that I know I’m not doing it well enough anymore. I’ve seen it happen to other people. They carry on and they carry on and then suddenly, midway through a season, they realise they have made a mistake. I don’t want that to be me.”

The established wisdom of the sports psychologist is that quitters do not win and winners never quit, so what on earth would they make of Benkenstein?

The former South African one day international has not only been a natural leader since he captained a South African school team 16 years ago he has been a remarkably successful one in the process.

At 22, he was tipped to become a future captain of the South African Test team after he chosen to lead his provincial side Natal. While his international career never blossomed as brightly as it should, partly due to the internal politics of South African cricket, he has won eight first class trophies as a skipper of Natal and Durham.

When he first arrived at Chester-le-Street four years ago, Benkenstein was content just to play his cricket as the Australian Test star Mike Hussey launched the Riverside revolution. He scored more than 1,000 runs in his first year in county cricket and when Hussey was unable to return because of international commitments he was the obvious, but reluctant choice to succeed him.

It was perhaps the club’s most significant decision since it decided to pursue the dream of becoming a first class county 16 years earlier. Benkenstein has been integral to the team’s success, but he is uncomfortable with the praise that comes his way as a result.

“I’m not a miracle worker, I haven’t waved a magic wand and suddenly turned Durham into a strong team,” he said. “A captain is only ever as good as the players he has at his disposal and all I’ve done is put them together.

“I don’t see it like I’m responsible for coming here and changing everything around. I’ve been part of that change, sure, but Durham’s success is by no means just down to me.

“I’m very proud that people think I have done a good job, but the success the team has had is down to the simple fact we have a really strong group of players.

“It doesn’t seem like we have done the impossible because I always knew this team could win things. We have got stronger since I’ve been here, but that’s because we have signed some good players and the young lads have continued to develop alongside them.

“A captain only does so much and, if the truth be told, I’m a little uncomfortable taking too much praise. I’m delighted I’ve been captain of the team which won Durham’s first trophy last year and I’m thrilled I’ve been in charge when we’ve won our first title, but if I didn’t have the right ingredients to work with I would have achieved nothing.

“Hopefully I’ve done the job to the best of my ability. All I’ve ever wanted to do is the best for Durham County Cricket Club and that will never change.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t carry on playing. I want to do that for as long as possible. All that matters to me is that Durham continue to improve and I will do everything I can to help them do that. I believe that means the time is right for someone else to be captain.”