Division 10 stats
Leading all time run scorer (2011-2016) - Peter Auret (Slieve Bloom) - 911 runs @ 33.03
Most runs in a Division 10 season - Anto Coates (Ringcommons) - 600 runs (2013)
Highest score - Peter Auret - 184 - Slieve Bloom 1 vs Terenure 3 - Terenure - 16 May 2015
Leading all time wicket taker (2011-2016) - Nick Jagoe (Railway Union) - 55 wkts @ 13.25
Most wickets in a Division 10 season - Anto Coates (Ringcommons) - 29 wkts (2013)
Best bowling - Sandeep Sood - 9-15 - Civil Service 3 vs Malahide 5 - Civil Service - 3 July 2011
Most matches - Paul Byrne (Railway Union ) - 45 - (2013-2016)
Highest team score - 355-3 - YMCA 4 vs North Kildare 3 - Claremont Road - 27 Aug 2011
Lowest team score - 38 all out - Pembroke 5 vs Railway Union 5 - Sydney Parade - 4 Aug 2013
Division 10 has the honour of starting the 2017 season, when Cabinteely 1 travel to Tymon Park this Saturday, to play Clondalkin 1. It will be the first of over a thousand Open Competitions matches over the summer. This league is a multi-county affair, with three of Dublin's counties, along with Longford, Wicklow, Westmeath and Louth all represented. There will be some kilometres on the cars of Division 10 players this year!
For Cabinteely 1 it promises to be a tough season. There has been good news for the club recently, with positive signs regarding their new ground - still needed after the club were forced out of Kilbogget Park by vandals. But two seasons without a home has held back the club's development a little and they need a good year in 2016. The "problem" is that Cabinteely have been promoteed two divisions from Division 12 after last year's runners-up spot, and that means a massive improvement is needed for 2017. They have failed to chalk up a win in eight previous matches against Greystones 2, Longford 2 and Adamstown 3, a measure of the improvement needed. 88th would be their best ever league position and they need 78th spot to avoid relegation. It has to be an 8th place prediction.
Mullingar 2 may look back to 2011-2013 as a golden period, but the slippage by the team since then gives a clue as to the chances for 2017. The last three seasons have seen them gradually falling down the league, and finishing in the same position as in 2016 would mean 6th. At this early stage, it looks as if the games against Cabinteely, Castleknock and Longford will be crucial, and Mullingar's record against Castleknock (0-2) hints at another team with a tough season ahead. 7th.
Greystones 2 have provided the Cricket Leinster pre-season reviewers with plenty of headaches over the years. They burst on to the scene, quickly romping up the leagues. 83, 70 , 68 were the returns from those first three years from 2013 to 2015. But the rises lessened, and 2016 saw a bit of a fall to 72nd. Their record is mixed - excellent against Cabinteely (4-0) - poor against Mullingar (2-4). Last year's 72nd is top, but the year could be a disappointment for the team, and we're going to go with 6th.
After the end of the 2016 season, Longford were ranked as the 23rd best first team in the province, and the 23rd best 2nd team as well. This would indicate that the 2nds are performing to their potential, and that any improvements are likely to pretty closely match those of the 1st team. Longford 1 and Adamstown 1 will be battling it out for 22nd/23rd amongst first teams, and if the 2nds are to finish in 22nd place as well, they need to finish above two of Mullingar, Castleknock and Greystones. That looks a possibility, with the tussle with Castleknock being key. If last year's position were matched, Longford would finish in 5th, and that will probably mean beating Castleknock twice - with the two previous matches between the teams having been shared. Longford 2 will definitely be mid-table - we'll go for 5th.
Castleknock 2 had their best ever finish in the league in 2016, and will be looking to improve this year (at the risk of descending into a world of horrible sporting cliches). As has been mentioned above, the middle of the league looks pretty congested, and without having access to detailed squad lists, it is little more than guess work to work out who will finish ahead of each other. Castleknock have a losing record against Adamstown 3 (in our opinion, one of the stronger sides in the league), and so a title looks beyond Castleknock. ike Longford, they are too good to go down, so we'll predict 4th place.
Clondalkin 1 have little experience against the other teams in the league (zero from one against Adamstown 3 being the only encounter), but there are a few reasons to be cheerful. Part one would be that the club now has a second team, meaning it is developing, and is likley to be on an upward trajectory. Part two would be their recruiting over the winter, leading to lots of competition for places. There should be a winning rhythm to the season, and we're going to stick with third place.
The Sunderland AFC of the Leinster cricketing world. Celebration and glee one year, as they run away with another Championship league title, followed by commiseration and despondency as they are relegated the year after. 2017 is an "up" year for Dundalk 1, and they have a real chance of lifting the Division 10 crown, which would be their fourth league title since 2010. They are unbeaten against Greystones and Longford, have shared two matches against Mullingar and haven't played the rest. So they have form, and the may thing will be whether they can beat Adamstown and Clondalkin? It will be a close run thing, but they may have to make do with the runners-up spot.
And that leaves us with the tip for the top in 2017 - Adamstown 3. There are mixed messages coming out of Adamstown at the moment, with lots of players coming and going. But the facts of the matter are that they have improved by an average of 12 league positions per year for the last three years, and only need to go up another two places from last year's 75 to win the league. It may not be a vintage Adamstown 3, but they will do enough to win their third league in four years.
Keep an eye on these pages for the build up to Saturday's match from Tymon Park