Luc Martin Benkenstein was born in KwaZulu-Natal, Durba, South Africa, son to former South African cricketer and coach Dale Benkenstein. Luc joined Essex Cricket halfway through the 2021 season and made his debut for the Club against Durham in the One Day Cup.
The genuine all-rounder produced a standout performance when he took his maiden five wicket-haul in a clash against Glamorgan during the 2022 One Day Cup tournament. His figures of 6-42 from ten overs placed him to fifth on the all-time best bowling figures for Essex in List A cricket – quite some feat for a then 17-year-old. That year, Benkenstein secured his maiden professional fifty, two games later.
In 2024, Luc claimed a duo of awards at the Essex Cricket End of Season Awards Gala which included the Men's Young Player of the Year and the Second XI Player of the Year.
Benkenstein has regularly featured in Essex’s T20 and List A squads, and across 22 white-ball matches in 2025, he scored 513 runs at an average of 27 and claimed 22 wickets.
