Division 12 stats
Leading all time run scorer (2011-2016) - Aidan Chester (Phoenix) - 774 runs @ 51.50
Most runs in a Division 12 season - Manoj Jacob (Swords) - 415 runs (2013)
Highest score - Shyam Bharti - 138 - Sandyford 2 vs Malahide 5 - Malahide 1 - 25 June 2016
Leading all time wicket taker (2011-2016) - Stuart Gallagher (Halverstown, Civil Service) - 65 wkts @ 16.94
Most wickets in a Division 12 season - Azhar Abdullah (Cabinteely) - 26 wkts (2015)
Best bowling - Shailendra Mishra - 7-34 - Cabinteely 1 vs Phoenix 5 - Phoenix - 4 Sept 2016
Most matches - Stuart Gallagher (Halverstown, Civil Service) (2013-2016) and Graham Mooney (Phoenix) (2012-2016) - 44
Highest team score - 333-9 - Adamstown 3 vs Dublin University 3 - Corkagh Park - 27 July 2014
Lowest team score - 12 all out - Merrion 7 vs Malahide 5 - Malahide - 15 Aug 2015
Division 12 is going to throw up some fascinating matches in 2017. Let us cast our mind back to 2012. Leinster 5 were flying high in 60th place in the league structure - a solid Division 8 side. North County 4 weren't too far behind - in Division 9. At the other end of the scale Balbriggan 3 were struggling at the bottom of Division 16, finishing in 115th place.
Fast forward five years, and all three of those teams will be in the same league. It is just not those three that find themselves in new surroundings - Civil Service 3 and Sandyford 2 have both fallen a bit in recent seasons; Swords 2 will be playing at a much higher level than they are used to - it is only Merrion 7 and Phoenix 5 who are used to this level. We can't wait.
Swords 2 have probably the hardest task. Since their first season in 2013, they have finished between 96 and 100 every year. There's nothing wrong with consistency, but the bad news for Swords is that even if they match their best ever performance, they will still be bottom (which of course means that what ever happens, they will at least match their best ever finish). There is hope - they have won three of their five matches against Phoenix, but they will need to be beating more than Phoenix if they are to avoid relegation.
Like a few other teams in this division, Civil Service 3 have had a long slide over the last six years, slipping from a high of 74th in the league to last year's 93rd. Their record against other teams in the league doesn't bode well though - in six matches against North County 4, Merrion 7, Phoenix 5 and Sandyford 2, they have failed to win a match. They haven't met the other three teams, and for that reason they have hope. Last year's 93rd would mean 5th this season, but there could be a fall of another couple of places to 7th.
2016 was the main part a season of losses for Sandyford 2 before they came back strongly in the early autumn. So there is hope for this year, but after being tipped for second place in 2016, we aren't so confident this time around. Matches against Phoenix and Balbriggan will be crucial if they are to establish them selves in the top half. We think Sandyford will win as many matches as they lose of those type of matches, and are going to predict they will finish in the same place as last season - 94th and 6th.
Phoenix 5 have been one of the unheralded success stories of the last few years. Of the ten 5th teams that were playing in 2011, only Phoenix, Clontarf and Merrion have not gone down, with Phoenix finishing 2016 at 92nd, the same position as in 2011. Their very recent record has been excellent, moving up seven places 2015 to the present. But there is no other way of saying it - Division 12 is a tough league this year, and Phoenix have their work cut out if they are going to keep on going up. They have losing records against Swords and Merrion, haven't played Leinster, North County or Balbriggan and the only team they have beaten more than they have lost to is Civil Service. But rumours from within the club are positive, and the 5ths will be well organised, and capable of shocks. Last year's league position would see them finishing 4th, but they may slip one to 5th.
What to make of Balbriggan 3? Years of underperformance in the lower reaches of the league have been brought to an end, as the club has quickly become one of the best organised in the province. They won Division 14 pretty easily last season, and have been rewarded with a double promotion. So which Balbriggan will take the field - the highly polished version that appeared last year, or the pre 2015 version that struggled to make an impact even on Division 16? Clearly, there will be no going back to the old days, and relegation should be out of the question. But there can be no ignoring that last year was their highest ever league placing - but it was only 104th in the league. They need to improve by another ten spots just to stay in Division 12. We think that should be possible, but another promotion looks a step too far. In 2012, Balbriggan were the 22nd ranked 3rd team. At the end of last year, they were up to 18th and tthe big battle will be with Civil Service to become 17th best. We think they will win that one, on their way to finishing 4th.
Leinster 5's season can't really be any worse than in 2016. That's the good news. After finishing bottom of Division 10 last year, they have dropped an extra division - partly to compensate for entering a team in the Development League, partly to find the correct level. But things are very quiet in Rathmines, and there are few signs at the moment that there will be a rennaisance this year. Of the seven other teams, they have only played two before, with a good 5-2 record over Sandyford 2 and a bad 1-4 record against North County 4. That may sum them up - too good for the lower teams, but not good enough to challenge for top spot. We'll predict 3rd place, which is still their lowest ever position, but somehow a better feeling than bottom of Division 10 last year.
The 2016 Division 12 champions are in Division 12 again, and so the big question is can Merrion 7 make it a double? Little will have changed in Merrion, and if anything they will be a bit stronger this year. They are massively consistent, finishing between 90th and 92nd in the league in four of the last six seasons. They have decent records against all the opponents that they have previously played. But they crucially have never played North County 4, and will have to beat them to win the league. That has to be beyond them, and hence we think Merrion 7 will have to make do with the runners-up spot.
And it will be no surprise to see that we are tipping the Division 12 champions for 2017 to be North County 4. The dynamics of clubs moving teams are always interestnig (to cricketing anoraks anyway). Ostensibly, North County (like many other clubs) have moved their 5ths from the league, and put them in the new Development league. The 4ths were then moved down the leagues to give the lower players in the club some competitive cricket (as other clubs have also done). But there is not getting away from the fact that most of the best 44 players in North County will still be playing as they were in 2016, and the same 4th team as last year will be playing four divisions lower than last year. And last year, they were worthy runners up in Division 8. It is difficult to see anything but a convincing Division 12 title for North County 4.
The first match is on Easter Monday when Leinster 5 host Sandyford 2 in Observatory Lane.