Stanley Bergin
Encyclopedia
Stanley Francis Bergin was an Irish cricket
er.
A left-handed batsman, he made his debut for Ireland against Yorkshire
in July 1949. He went onto play for Ireland on 53 occasions, his last match coming against Hampshire
in September 1965. 27 of his matches for Ireland had first-class status
.
He opened the batting for Ireland for sixteen years. He played 53 matches, he had 98 innings,
7 not out's, 2524 runs, his average was 27.74, he got fifteen 50's, two 100's and 17 catches.
He played for Pembroke CC and Ireland.
He was one of a family of seven boys, Stanley was eduacated at Westland Row CBS. He played
football and hurling for the school and represented Leinster
at college level. He was also a top junior-soccer player and played fullback for Monkstown in rugby's Leinster Senior Cup. Add to that a golf
handicap of 15 and league-level table tennis and you have a remarkable all-round sportsman. But on top of it all was his love and aptitude for the game of cricket
.
He joined Pembroke CC, for whom his brother Bernard opened the batting. Bernard won two caps
for Ireland against the 1937 New Zealanders, when the three-day match ended in one day. Two other brothers, Augustine (Railway Union) and Gerard (Pembroke) also played senior cricket.
Stanley was only fourteen when he made his first XI debut in a side sporting several internationals including the William brothers. A small, wiry batsmen who always wore glasses, Bergin was particularly strong square of the wicket, but the hallmark of his game was his concentration. This was best seen against the 1951 South Africans, who fielded Cuan McCarthy
, the fastest bowler in the world at the time. Ireland lost by an innings, but Bergin batted through the second innings for an unbeaten 79 (out of the team's 130) - the last time an Irish batsmen carried his bat. He was similarly dogged in batting for six hours against Leicestershire
in 1959 for innings of 31 and 23. Among his other notable feats for Ireland
were four consecutive fifties in 1950-51.
He made 7,713 runs with Pembroke before he retired from cricket altogether in 1965. His career average of 36.9 was the record when he retired from cricket, and is still good enough
to make the top ten all-time LCU
batsmen. He won the Marchant Cup for the province's leading
batsmen on four occasions and won league and cup doubles with Pembroke in 1944, 1946, 1954
and 1957, the last as captain. He made eight centuries for Pembroke, the first an unbeaten
101 against Merrion at the age of sixteen.
A journalist by trade, he was cricket correspondent for The Irish Times and the Evening
Herald, and also wrote about Gaelic Games. In those days of 'The Ban', his name used to
appear in cricket scorecards as 'B Stanley' to preserve his reputation among the Gaels. He suffered a cricket ban too, in 1960, for accepting an individual award from Caltex, the forerunner of the Texaco awards. Since then only Dermott Monteith (1971 and 1973) and Ed Joyce
(2005) have won the award.
His two centuries for Ireland came against Scotland in 1959 and 1961, while he also made 69 and
63* against Yorkshire in 1959. The 1961 hundred came in Cork, where he took more than six hours. It took him half an hour to get from 92 to 96 but then began slashing wildly and was dropped twice. He never made a century at Lord' but came close in 1963 (88) and 1965 (78). His last game for Ireland was in September 1965 at Clontarf, close to where he lived. Several of his sons continued the cricketing tradition in Castl Avenue after his untimely death and Brendan represented North Leinster in the 1980's.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er.
A left-handed batsman, he made his debut for Ireland against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
in July 1949. He went onto play for Ireland on 53 occasions, his last match coming against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in September 1965. 27 of his matches for Ireland had first-class status
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
.
He opened the batting for Ireland for sixteen years. He played 53 matches, he had 98 innings,
7 not out's, 2524 runs, his average was 27.74, he got fifteen 50's, two 100's and 17 catches.
He played for Pembroke CC and Ireland.
He was one of a family of seven boys, Stanley was eduacated at Westland Row CBS. He played
football and hurling for the school and represented Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
at college level. He was also a top junior-soccer player and played fullback for Monkstown in rugby's Leinster Senior Cup. Add to that a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
handicap of 15 and league-level table tennis and you have a remarkable all-round sportsman. But on top of it all was his love and aptitude for the game of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
He joined Pembroke CC, for whom his brother Bernard opened the batting. Bernard won two caps
for Ireland against the 1937 New Zealanders, when the three-day match ended in one day. Two other brothers, Augustine (Railway Union) and Gerard (Pembroke) also played senior cricket.
Stanley was only fourteen when he made his first XI debut in a side sporting several internationals including the William brothers. A small, wiry batsmen who always wore glasses, Bergin was particularly strong square of the wicket, but the hallmark of his game was his concentration. This was best seen against the 1951 South Africans, who fielded Cuan McCarthy
Cuan McCarthy
-External links:****...
, the fastest bowler in the world at the time. Ireland lost by an innings, but Bergin batted through the second innings for an unbeaten 79 (out of the team's 130) - the last time an Irish batsmen carried his bat. He was similarly dogged in batting for six hours against Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
in 1959 for innings of 31 and 23. Among his other notable feats for Ireland
were four consecutive fifties in 1950-51.
He made 7,713 runs with Pembroke before he retired from cricket altogether in 1965. His career average of 36.9 was the record when he retired from cricket, and is still good enough
to make the top ten all-time LCU
LCU
LCU may refer to:* Landing Craft Utility* Lubbock Christian University* Lookahead Carry Unit* Local currency unit* Local colleges and universities in the Philippines* Least Competent User Usability testing* Logical Control Unit...
batsmen. He won the Marchant Cup for the province's leading
batsmen on four occasions and won league and cup doubles with Pembroke in 1944, 1946, 1954
and 1957, the last as captain. He made eight centuries for Pembroke, the first an unbeaten
101 against Merrion at the age of sixteen.
A journalist by trade, he was cricket correspondent for The Irish Times and the Evening
Herald, and also wrote about Gaelic Games. In those days of 'The Ban', his name used to
appear in cricket scorecards as 'B Stanley' to preserve his reputation among the Gaels. He suffered a cricket ban too, in 1960, for accepting an individual award from Caltex, the forerunner of the Texaco awards. Since then only Dermott Monteith (1971 and 1973) and Ed Joyce
(2005) have won the award.
His two centuries for Ireland came against Scotland in 1959 and 1961, while he also made 69 and
63* against Yorkshire in 1959. The 1961 hundred came in Cork, where he took more than six hours. It took him half an hour to get from 92 to 96 but then began slashing wildly and was dropped twice. He never made a century at Lord' but came close in 1963 (88) and 1965 (78). His last game for Ireland was in September 1965 at Clontarf, close to where he lived. Several of his sons continued the cricketing tradition in Castl Avenue after his untimely death and Brendan represented North Leinster in the 1980's.