All Ireland Club Rankings

2005 was a historic year, perhaps the first since the 1930's when the strongest club in the land was from the province of Leinster. The North County had been slowly assembled over the previous few years, adn by 2005, it had amassed an array of talent, the like that had not been seen in Leinster for a long while. Internationals everywhere - Botha, Mooney, Mooney, Conor Armstrong, Strydom. O'Connor, the pro Brooker, Dara Armstrong, Dwayne Harper and then a brace of Martins or Cian Armstrong thrown in. If they were short, an exciting prospect by the name of Morgan would come in - he scored a distinctly useful 142* in the quarter final win over North Down. An unmatchable team, that won the Irish Senior Cup and Leinster Senior League (not a huge haul by their standards) but were head and shoulders above anyone else.

It's easy to think that this is the start of Leinster's domination of Irish cricket, but I'm not sure that was the case (and may still not be). In 2005, the LCU had three clubs in the top 10 (as it had in 2001) and six in the top 20 (compared to five in 2001). Hardly the hallmarks of a dominant province. What is apparent is how the NCU had fallen away, with only two Top 10 clubs in 2005 (four in 2001) and six Top 20 (eight in 2001). It was probably the North West that had taken over as the leading province at this stage, although North County were leading the charge.

All in all, 2005 was a fairly quiet year for the rankings. North County reached top spot on June 28th, ending Donemana's reign - they had been top since August 30th 2003. Brigade were the big losers, a bad run of form in August saw them slump to 8th by the end of the year. But as ever, there were big movers else where, as some clubs developed/acquired players to get success, and others withered away.

Three on the up - The Hills. Bryn Thomas had trod the not so worn route from CYM to Milverton in 2004, and Michael Lax followed him in 2005. Ian O'Herlihy had enough with bumping along the bottom of Section B, and decided to join his brother Skerries way, and all of a sudden, The Hills were a force to be reckoned with. The Senior Cup and Section B followed, and The Hills were firmly on the nationwide stage (however their ISC rtun was halted by an inspired Glendermott side chasing 314.

Killymallaght - Their rapid improvement was seemingly down to one man - Danza Hyatt. A great season, including a famous 250*, meant that a club who were even below Leinster in 2004 (!), were up to 32nd in 2005. Not the big time yet, but a move in the right direction.

Fox Lodge - The Foxes were the third of 2005's big movers, moving up 17 places to 19th. The won Senior 2 at a canter, winning all twenty of their league games, and although the pro had a good season, it was an all round team performance. Whether it was the start of greater things will be seen in 2006

Unfortunately, where there are winners, there will also be those who are having a hard time of it, in cricket as much as life. Carrickfergus were the biggest fallers in 2005, dropping 17 places to 38th. The fall in ranking was more down to the way they are calculated rather than a terrifically bad season. Based on a three year rolling average, Carrickfergus spent 2004 and 2005 bobbing around the bottom of Senior 1, without actually being sunk. Their true position is best reflected on their drubbing at the hands of a poor LCC in 2004.

Munster Reds - An interesting case, the experiment of Munster playing a team in the Leinster leagues was drawing to an end. When at full strength they were a handful for all the teams, and they more than held their own. However, once players tired of the four hour journey every other week, the team became weaker, and the end was nigh.

Instonians - Not a disasterous season for Inst, but not enough to keep a position of 12th in the country. As much a victim of the falling standards in the NCU as anything else. With less top teams playing in the NCU, it's that much harder to pick up points. You have to be beating North Down and Waringstown to get anywhere.

So that's it for 2005. How long North County will be at the top is anyone's guess. Just a final sentance for the now traditional look at how poorly Leinster CC were doing in the early part of the century. No respite at the moment - a further fall of one place to 43rd equalling the worst season (2003). I suspect that with a certain Scholtz making his debut in 2006, and a half decent pro in Umar Abrahams to come, the nadir may have been reached.

2006 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	+1	North County	42	4018	95
2	-1	Donemana	52	4679	89
3	+2	North Down	51	4366	85
4	+3	Waringstown	45	3708	83
5	-1	Limavady	59	4809	82
6	+3	Clontarf	48	3887	82
7	+1	Strabane	55	4379	80
8	-5	Brigade	52	4139	79
9	-3	Phoenix	41	3135	76
10	+3	Bready	43	3206	75
11	-1	Malahide	39	2886	75
12	+7	Glendermott	53	3801	72
13	+17	The Hills	42	2962	71
14	-3	Bangor	46	3220	70
15	+3	Rush	39	2686	69
16	NE	Civil Service North	20	1342	67
17	-1	Downpatrick	50	3224	65
18	+5	Muckamore	40	2573	64
19	+17	Fox Lodge	42	2677	63
20	-3	Burndennett	47	2859	61
21	+11	Ballyspallen	46	2748	60
22	+5	Lisburn	42	2512	59
23	-11	Instonians	45	2604	58
24	-	Railway Union	41	2336	57
25	-10	Cliftonville	45	2546	57
26	+3	Woodvale	39	2204	57
27	-5	Pembroke	41	2267	55
28	-14	Munster Reds	21	1132	53
29	-9	Ballymena	38	1978	53
30	-5	Derriaghy	42	2175	52
31	+12	YMCA	40	2064	52
32	+15	Killymallaght	38	1935	51
33	-5	Cooke Collegians	40	2028	51
34	-1	Ardmore	49	2434	49
35	-9	Lurgan	43	2077	48
36	-1	Belfast Harlequins	24	1130	48
37	-3	Coleraine	39	1827	47
38	-17	Carrickfergus	42	1913	46
39	-8	Merrion	42	1878	45
40	-3	Eglinton	47	2074	44
41	+5	Bonds Glen	42	1792	43
42	-4	Creevedonnell	38	1600	42
43	-1	Leinster	39	1553	39
44	-5	CYM	35	1354	38
45	+11	Laurelvale	29	1085	38
46	-1	Dunmurry	39	1463	38
47	-6	Larne	38	1317	35
48	+2	St Johnston	39	1334	35
49	-1	Armagh	40	1352	34
50	-10	Drummond	42	1419	34
51	-7	Sion Mills	41	1176	29
52	+2	CIYMS	15	366	25
53	-1	Holywood	37	877	23
54	-5	North Fermanagh	34	738	21
55	-2	Dublin University	10	170	17
56	-5	Old Belvedere	37	618	17
57	-	Killyclooney	33	550	17
58	-	The Nedd	31	217	7

Crindle dropped out from the 2004 rankings