It is with the greatest sadness that I have to report the death of Robbie Stanton. If ever the term ‘stalwart of the club’ had meaning, it applied to Robbie.
Robbie grew up on Anglesea Road and followed his older sisters and brother down to the club. From an early age he was playing cricket and on 26th May, 1979 made his debut for Merrion’s 1st XI against Leinster at Anglesea Road. A game, which unusually for the time, we won. He took his first senior wicket [1/18] that day. He went on to play 394 Leinster Senior games for Merrion, the most of any player in Merrion’s history and a record never likely to be beaten.
In a senior career spanning 28 years he took 300 wickets, scored 4,637 runs and took 102 catches. He captained the club in 1990 and 1993. He is one of Merrion’s great all-rounders.
His best individual performance in a senior match was 8/16 against Pembroke at Anglesea Road in 1988. But my personal enduring memory was of Robbie bringing the team home to beat Pembroke in the Wiggins Teape [League Cup] final in 1999 at Castle Avenue. It was a very tight game and Merrion were chasing 136 and losing wickets fast. It was very close and I had retreated behind the Clontarf pavilion as the game itself was too tense to watch. Finally I emerged just in time to see Robbie play his signature shot over extra cover to win the match. Robbie had made 10*, but it was perhaps the most valuable runs of his career and brought the first major Senior trophy back to Merrion since the early 1960s.
Robbie started his playing career as a bowler but by the end he had given this up and turned himself into a bat. And it as an opening bat that most of the newer members of the club will remember him. Robbie continued to turn out for the club week after week even after he retired from senior cricket. Last year he struck a purple patch and in 14 games scored 375 runs at an average of 35.85, This included a not out century of 117*. Indeed since 2011 [as far back as Leinster ‘Junior’ Competition Records go], he played a total of 195 matches and scored 4,448 runs. During this time he turned out on every team in the club from the 2nd XI to the 6ths.
Robbie played with just about everyone in the club over the past 50 years. The team on his debut was Saleem Uddin, Ken McDonald, Eddie Lewis, Alan Little, Paul Coughlan, Peter McWilliams, Kevin O’Herlihy, Michael Mills, John O’Hagan and Peter Geoffroy. The team on his last match in 2006 against North County consisted of Kade Beasley, David Cooke, David Drane, Damian Poder, Jeff Short, Angus Fleming, T Patel, J Smith, Richard Keaveney and T [Sum] Wijesundra.
Robbie’s contribution to the club has been immense. Apart from captaincy duties, he has been a member of the Selection Committee for many years, represented the club on Cricket Leinster’s Open Competition Committee and could always be found down in the club helping to organise car parking for rugby and soccer matches and during the RDS Horseshow. When he wasn’t playing himself he was supporting the other teams in the club. He will be missed.
Our deepest condolences to Arlene, Tom and Seán and to his sisters Marie, Alice and Helen and his brother John.
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What follows is an extract from the Derek Scott records of Robbie’s career. The many team mates and opponents may remember some of the games he played in.
Robbie Stanton Senior Record