English umpire Mark Benson has made the extraordinary decision of retiring from Test cricket midway through his umpiring duties in Adelaide.

Benson withdrew from the second day of the Test match between Australia and the West Indies and it is unclear at this stage for the reason behind his sudden decision.

But there is speculation growing that Benson quit in protest after being upset about his treatment on day one when a couple of controversial decisions of his were challenged.

Benson twice ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul not-out to caught-behind appeals on Friday, both of which were challenged by the Australians. The third umpire, Asad Rauf, upheld Benson’s first ruling, prompting an angry response from the bowler, Doug Bollinger, and the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting. But the second decision was overruled to dismiss Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 62. Replays provided little evidence to suggest Chanderpaul’s bat had made contact with ball, with any noise detected appearing to be caused by bat hitting pad, but the third umpire Asad Rauf gave Chanderpaul out anyway.

Benson didn’t check into a hospital and has already boarded a flight back to England, adding further suspicion that his immediate departure was caused by disenchantment.

Follow us on Twitter to get all the updates – crichotline@twitter