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{{short description|English cricketer and businessman}}
{{About||the American lawyer and politician|Robert Denniston}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Sir Robert Denniston
| image =
| country = England
| full_name = Robert Dale Denniston
| birth_date = 3 January 1890
| birth_place = [[Croydon]], [[Surrey]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1946|11|19|1890|1|3|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], [[Kent]], England
| nickname =
| family =
| batting = Unknown
| bowling = Unknown-arm [[Underarm bowling|lob]]<ref name="MAD"/>
| role =
| club1 = [[Europeans cricket team|Europeans]]
| year1 = 1915/16–1925/26
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 7
| runs1 = 261
| bat avg1 = 20.07
| 100s/50s1 = –/3
| top score1 = 84
| deliveries1 = 18
| wickets1 = 0
| bowl avg1 = –
| fivefor1 = –
| tenfor1 = –
| best bowling1 = –
| catches/stumpings1 = 5/–
| date = 12 December
| year = 2023
| source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/robert-denniston-28196 Cricinfo
}}

'''Sir Robert Dale Denniston''' (3 January 1890 – 19 November 1946) was an English first-class [[cricket]]er and businessman.

Denniston was born in January 1890 at [[Croydon]]. He was educated at both Bedford County School and Elstow School, before going to [[British India]] in 1911 to work as a junior assistant at the [[Chennai|Madras]]-based firm Best & Co.<ref name="MAD">{{cite web|url=https://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2025%20No%203/meet-denny.html|title=Madras Musings|website=www.madrasmusings.com|volume=25|issue=3|accessdate=12 December 2023}}</ref> There, he was heavily involved in cricket in the city, playing [[club cricket]] for the [[Madras Cricket Club]], the Eccentrics Cricket Club, and for the lesser known Emmanuel Club.<ref name="MAD"/> Four years after his arrival in India, Denniston made his debut in [[first-class cricket]] for the [[Europeans cricket team]] against the [[Indians cricket team|Indians]] in the 1915–16 [[Madras Presidency Match]]. He played first-class cricket for the Europeans until 1926, making seven appearances for the team, all against the Indians in the Madras Presidency Match.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/13/13311/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches played by Robert Denniston|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=12 December 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Playing as a batsman, he scored 261 runs at an [[batting average (cricket)|average]] of 20.07; he made two half centuries, with a highest score of 84.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/13/13311/f_Batting_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Robert Denniston|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=12 December 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref> During the [[First World War]], Denniston was commissioned into the [[British Indian Army]] as a [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries|second lieutenant]] with the [[Indian Defence Force]] in June 1917.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30238|date=17 August 1917|page=8524|supp=y}}</ref> His military service ended in March 1919.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31541|date=5 September 1919|page=11326|supp=y}}</ref>

After his military service, Denniston resumed his business career with Best and Co., and by the [[Second World War]] he was its chairman and managing director.<ref name="MAD"/> He also served as the chairman of the [[Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry|Madras Chamber of Commerce]].<ref name="NEWS">{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19461122/147/0010|title=Sir Robert Denniston Dead|work=[[Civil and Military Gazette]]|location=[[Lahore]]|page=10|date=22 November 1946|access-date=12 December 2023|url-access=subscription|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> It was for his services to business that he was [[Knight Bachelor|Knighted]] in the [[1942 Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35586|date=5 June 1942|page=2476}}</ref> During the Second World War, he was a [[Ministry of War Transport]] deputy-representative in Madras.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19420517/121/0008|title=Ministry of War Transport representatives in India|work=Civil and Military Gazette|location=Lahore|page=8|date=17 May 1942|access-date=12 December 2023|url-access=subscription|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref> Throughout the 1930s and during the war, he remained active within the cricket community of the [[Madras Presidency]]. In 1944, he was given the honour of bowling the first ball to [[Arthur Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour|Sir Arthur Hope]] at the opening of new [[cricket nets]] in Madras. At Denniston's suggestion, schoolboys were admitted free of charge to the [[M. A. Chidambaram Stadium|Madras Cricket Club Ground]] after 4pm on the last day of [[Ranji Trophy]] matches. He commentated on both cricket and [[field hockey]] matches, being known for his slow speech and narrative, which drew critics.<ref name="MAD"/> Denniston left India in 1946, vowing to return, stating "I was born an Englishman, but I was brought up a Madarassi".<ref name="MAD"/> However, he died following a short illness soon after his return to England, dying at his residence in [[Hythe, Kent]], in November 1946.<ref name="NEWS"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cricinfo|id=28196}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denniston, Robert}}
[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1946 deaths]]
[[Category:Cricketers from the London Borough of Croydon]]
[[Category:People from Croydon]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:Europeans cricketers]]
[[Category:Indian Defence Force officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:English cricket commentators]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Croydon]]

Robert Denniston (cricketer) - Revision history

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