All Ireland Club Rankings

2006 is remembered - especially in Leinster circles for being Railway Union's golden year. The Sandymount side won virtually everything available to them, winning five trophies - only the Leinster Senior Cup eluding them. In these rankings they experienced a massive leap, jumping from 24th in 2005 to 9th in the country. The thought was in the back of my mind though, that if they were so dominant, why were they only ranked 9th? Why not a top 5 club?

After having a good look through their season, it becomes clear - they didn't have to play any of the country's top clubs - and when they did, they lost. Based on the 2005 rankings, the DGM was won on the back of only having to play three teams in the top 20 (Rush, The Hills and Malahide) and none of these were top 10 clubs. The Irish Senior Cup victory had wins against Top 20 sides in Bready, The Hills, Rush and Phoenix - good teams but not of the very highest order. In the league, Railway could obviously only beat what was put in front of them in Section B - no superstars there. And finally, the one great team they played all season - North County - beat them in the Leinster Senior Cup.

So Railway were a good team, but not a great team. 9th place in the rankings looks about right. Elsewhere, North County maintained their hold on top spot, winning the Leinster Senior League for the 4th year on the trot. Former champions Donemana had a trophyless year and slipped to 5th place. Strabane further cemented their pedigree by moving up three to 4th. The NCU pairing of North Down and Waringstown slotted in at numbers two and three.

It was slit your wrists time for some clubs, with Civil Service North, Munster Reds and Cooke Collegians having the largest falls. CSNI only came into their latest incarnation the year before, but found life a bit tougher in Division 1. A mid-table finish was respectable, but a second round exit in the Senior Cup and first round loss to Ardmore in the Irish Senior Cup were less so. In fairness, the ranking of 16th in 2005 was a bit inflated - 28th in 2006 a bit more realistic. Munster Reds' fall from grace has been mentioned in a previous summary. 2006 was another season that saw the previous strengths of the Cork based team ebb away. There were still another two years of cricket left yet before the team was disbanded in that form. Finally, Cooke Collegians were the biggest fallers - from 33rd in 2005 to 48th this year. Unfortunatley I'm not sure of the exact reasons for their demise in 2006, but a first round cup exit and only Larne below them in the league made it a year to forget.

Three less fashionable Ulster teams were the big risers of the year. Derriaghy slowly progressed from the junior ranks, and with their trio of South Africans - a brace of Van der Merwes and a Van Niekerk, they were unstoppable in Division 2 in 2006. 13th in the country is probably a bit high, but 2006 was a great season for them. After recent events, Killymallaght's rise to 15th in the country has a certain tinge of sadness about it. A dominant league campaign, securing the Senior 2 title at a canter, with pro Arjune having a great season with four centuries. The biggest risers were CIYMS who were ranked 52nd in 2005, but went on a remarkable cup run, beating Laurelvale, Ballymena, Holywood and Lisburn before finding Waringstown a step too far. 4th place in the league was also a good start after the previous year's promotion.

In previous year's we have finished with a sad note about the travails of Leinster CC, and where they were languishing. However in 2006, a certain Anton Scholtz walked into the club, and coupled with Umar Abrahams as pro, the tide had turned. Confidence flowed into the veins of established players. Third place in the league was a hell of a lot better than in previous years, the highlight probably being only the second team to beat Railway all season, despite Leinster missing Abrahams, Vermaak and Mark Jones. LCC were back on the way up at 30th in the country

2007 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	-	North County	42	4099	97
2	+1	North Down	51	4752	93
3	+1	Waringstown	43	3974	92
4	+3	Strabane	54	4809	89
5	-3	Donemana	46	4020	87
6	+2	Brigade	50	4338	87
7	-2	Limavady	55	4630	84
8	+5	The Hills	45	3532	79
9	+15	Railway Union	45	3430	77
10	-4	Clontarf	42	3216	77
11	+4	Rush	44	3339	76
12	-2	Bready	44	3275	74
13	+17	Derriaghy	42	3050	73
14	-3	Malahide	40	2847	71
15	+17	Killymallaght	41	2867	69
16	+10	Woodvale	38	2653	69
17	-8	Phoenix	38	2616	69
18	+4	Lisburn	43	2776	64
19	+12	YMCA	39	2465	64
20	-6	Bangor	43	2716	63
21	-1	Burndennett	46	2878	63
22	-5	Downpatrick	45	2809	62
23	-11	Glendermott	48	2922	61
24	-6	Muckamore	38	2322	61
25	-4	Ballyspallen	46	2713	59
26	+14	Eglinton	49	2826	58
27	-8	Fox Lodge	41	2327	57
28	-12	Civil Service North	32	1822	56
29	+6	Lurgan	42	2294	55
30	+13	Leinster	38	2065	54
31	-8	Instonians	44	2379	54
32	+7	Merrion	40	2125	53
33	+19	CIYMS	30	1512	51
34	+7	Bonds Glen	43	2181	51
35	-6	Ballymenan	37	1800	48
36	-11	Cliftonville	44	2010	45
37	+8	Laurelvale	32	1422	44
38	+10	St Johnston	40	1760	44
39	-12	Pemrboke	38	1606	43
40	-6	Ardmore	46	1932	42
41	-3	Carrickfergus	40	1687	42
42	-14	Munster Reds	25	1032	42
43	-6	Coleraine	43	1748	41
44	-2	Creevedonnell	38	1534	40
45	+1	Dunmurry	35	1380	39
46	+3	Armagh	37	1324	36
47	-3	CYM	33	1174	36
48	-15	Cooke Collegians	38	1331	35
49	+1	Drummond	40	1337	33
50	+1	Sion Mills	43	1148	27
51	+2	Holywood	21	538	26
52	-5	Larne	37	902	25
53	+4	Killyclooney	42	841	20
54	+4	The Nedd	41	613	15
55	-1	North Fermanagh	34	509	15
56	-	Old Belvedere	35	463	13

Dublin University and Belfast Harlequins out from the 2005 rankings