All Ireland Club Rankings

Four different teams could call themselves the best in Ireland at various points of the season, a fifth wins their second Irish Senior Cup, but when the dust had settled, Donemana were top of the pile, finishing 2003 as they started it.

As was expected of Donemana at the beginning of the century, they were dominant. League champions, Faughan Valley Cup champions, semi finalists in both Irish and North West Senior Cups. The only blemish was a bowl out defeat to North Down in the first round of the Ulster Cup.

They didn't have it their own way though. Limavady were top from April 26th - 2nd June, 7th June - 14th June, and 13th July - 7th August. Brigade reached the pinnacle of the rankings for their first time on 2nd June, although losing to Limavady five days later meant their reign didn't last long. They then beat Donemana on 14th June, so had another turn at the top, this time holding on to it until 21st June. June 21st was a historic day for these rankings, being the first day that a North West team wasn't the best in Irish cricket. In the Irish Senior Cup on that day, Brigade lost to Railway meaning North Down's league win over Belfast Harlequins sent them to number one. They stayed there until 13th July, and then had another stint from 7th August - 31st August, before Donemana reclaimed the spot they can almost call their own.

One further milestone was seen, as in the ISC Semi Finals North County beat Donemana to move into the Top 5 for the first time, and Railway Union beat Limavady to move into the Top 10. There was a definite feeling of the beginnings of a new era in 2003. The North West's representation in the Top 20 of Irish cricket had decreased from seven in 2001 to four in 2003 (Donemana, Limavady, Brigade and Bready), whereas the Leinster resurgence can be seen by a corresponding increase from five to eight (including Munster Reds). Possibly a sign of the times to come

Munster Reds were becoming a force in Leinster in 2003, Williamson, Banks, Power, Hickey, Bracegirdle et al, contributing towards a team of some strength. They moved up 11 places in 2003 to 9th spot. Similarly Carrickfergus moved up 11 places to 8th spot, but this highlights a slight problem in these rankings. Although they had a good season, getting to the semi final of the NCU Senior Cup and winning Division 2, whether they were the 3rd best team in the NCU is questionable. They didn't lose much, and hence earned plenty of ranking points, but 2004's rankings, when they have to play the top NCU sides will really show where they are. Interestingly the ICC ODI rankings have exactly the same problem. If Ireland kept on playng Kenya every day, they would eventually become the best team in the world, although not having to play anyone else.

Several other sides had great seasons. Ballymena put their disappointing 2002 season behind them, tying with Muckamore for 2nd spot in Division 2. They rocketed up 15 places to 24th as a result. Sion Mills raced to the Senior 2 title, with pro Quershi, Bobby Rao and Lee McGonigle spearheading the campaign. They moved up 13 to 33rd

Finally some sob stories. Merrion were a consistent Top 10 team in 2001 and 2002, as Torrisi, Spanner, Flegler and others dominated. However the superstars departed, and they were relegated in 2003, dropping 10 spots to 16th. YMCA were another former great who lost their way. By the end of 2003, they were down to 47th from 25th in 2001. Leinster dropped another two places to 43rd, hopefully the lowest point we will reach!

2004 will be available for viewing soon. If you have any comments, either mail Paul Reynolds here or make a comment on the CricketEurope forum

#	Change	Team	Played	Pts	Average
1	-	Donemana	59	5392	91
2	+2	North Down	49	4272	88
3	-1	Limavady	49	4150	85
4	-1	Brigade	52	4416	84
5	+2	North County	47	3885	83
6	-1	Waringstown	46	3423	75
7	+6	Phoenix	42	2914	70
8	+11	Carrickfergus	39	2687	69
9	+11	Munster Reds	22	1502	68
10	+1	Cliftonville	46	3039	67
11	+6	Instonians	44	2912	66
12	+3	Bready	45	2924	65
13	+9	Clontarf	41	2667	65
14	+7	Railway Union	45	2830	63
15	-3	Malahide	39	2461	63
16	-10	Merrion	43	2635	61
17	-9	Bangor	40	2428	61
18	-9	Pembroke	41	2486	61
19	-1	Muckamore	42	2496	59
20	-10	Downpatrick	46	2611	57
21	+5	Strabane	45	2478	55
22	-8	Eglinton	44	2452	55
23	+4	Ardmore	44	2422	55
24	+15	Ballymena	39	2114	54
25	-2	Burndennett	44	2351	53
26	-1	The Hills	35	1817	52
27	+10	Glendermott	46	2353	51
28	+1	Belfast Harlequins	34	1714	50
29	-5	Lurgan	43	2136	50
30	-14	Armagh	37	1823	49
31	-3	Creevedonnell	41	2002	49
32	+2	Lisburn	42	1979	47
33	+13	Sion Mills	42	1979	47
34	+1	CYM	43	1884	44
35	+5	Cooke Collegians	39	1707	44
36	-4	Drummond	41	1793	44
37	+5	Rush	38	1701	44
38	+7	Coleraine	38	1701	43
39	-8	Dunmurry	33	1393	43
40	-10	Woodvale	42	1765	42
41	-3	Fox Lodge	42	1752	41
42	-9	Derriaghy	37	1522	41
43	-2	Leinster	39	1508	39
44	+3	Dublin University	13	461	35
45	+7	Killymallaght	33	1083	32
46	+4	Old Belvedere	35	1129	32
47	-11	YMCA	39	1223	31
48	+6	St Johnston	35	1071	31
49	NE	Larne	22	661	30
50	-6	North Fernanagh	37	1114	30
51	-8	Bonds Glen	37	1056	28
52	-4	Holywood	39	1098	28
53	-4	Millpark	20	554	28
54	+1	Ballyspallen	34	904	26
55	-4	Crindle	32	640	20
56	-3	Laurelvale	39	765	20

Saintfield dropped out from the 2002 rankings