Leading OCC wicket takers 2011 to 2012

For those of a certain vintage, it would have been Wally Hammond and Fred Trueman. To anyone who is has been on this earth for thirty or so years, it would be Sunil Gavaskar and Sir Richard Hadlee.

Currently it is Sachin and Murali, and closer to home it could either be Porterfield and Montieth or maybe Bergin and Boucher, or perhaps even Porterfield and Johnston. This article will reveal who goes with Mathew. (*)

As promised, this is the follow up to yesterday's article revealing the leading career runs scorer in the LCU since current records began at the start of 2011. Alex Mathew of Dundrum led the way in the batting, but who has taken the most wickets in LCU Open Comps in that time? 

Whereas the equivalent list for batsmen has its fair share of international superstars, the bowling top 21 is comprised solely of honest club players (although a few may play for Ireland in the future). The batting list has plenty who have scored their runs at the very top of the club structure in Leinster, the bowling list is dominated by those who play their cricket at a mixture of levels - all reflected by the fact that bowling is a hard mistress, and you need to be playing frequently to figure on this particular list.

Taking the arbitary cut off point as the top 21 wicket takers in the province (matching the batting brethren), anyone who has taken 60 wickets in Open Competitions since the start of 2011 qualifies, and for a bit of spice, we'll start at the bottom.
Creeping over the 60 barrier are two players who personify Leinster cricket - hard working bowlers who are the life and soul of their respective clubs - Craig Senior of Pembroke and Adrian Tudor of Laois. Senior has his wickets at 11.5 and Tudor at 15.87. Without disparaging anyone, I'd rather be a bowler in Pembroke than in Laois!

Next up, it another "old" warrior - Ravi Mehta of Civil Service. His best was 5-26 in August 2011 (in Cabra) helping his 63 wickets at 13.68.

18th spot belongs to a bowler of a slightly younger vintage - and with slightly more pace than those mentioned so far. Dwyane Harper's pedigree is clear for all to see, and he has been insrumental in Balbriggan's ascent to Division 2. No one has taken more Division 3 wickets in the last two years, giving him a total of 63 at 14.35.

Keeping up the theme of youth is Andrew Delany of Clontarf. To have 63 wickets already in his (documented) career is extrordinary, and the 14 year old wil have thousands more to come. 16th is Delany's Clontarf colleague, Adam Craig. Craig is quite possibly the only player to have played in both Division 1 and Divison 14 over the last two seasons, whilst the majority of his 66 wickets (at 12.66) have been in Division 5.

Yaqoob Ali is the only YMCA player to appear in the top 21, with 67 wicket at 16.93, including one of the best performances in the province in the last couple of years 8-16 against Malahide 3 in July 2011.

The first of two Railway Union players is Ajith Ravi, a menace of batsmen's confidence in Divisions 11 and 13 over the last couple of years. After a resonable 2011 (20 at 25.60), he was instrumenntal in the success of Railway Union 4 in 2012 with 49 wickets at 12.08 in total.

Whilst we are in Park Ave, the other Railway bowler is the evergreen Nick Jagoe. He slips into the Top 10, with 71 wickets at 13.51. Back to 13th place, and the appearance of Terry Richardson of North County. One of only two players to have the 700/70 wicket double, Richardson has 70 at 18.01.

Twelfth place, and the bowler who has bowled more overs than any other in the entire province. Hopefully he is enjoying the winter with his feet up - Conor Gibbons of Malahide has taken 70 wickets at 20.56 - and it took him 379.1 overs to do it.
Back to Division 2 now - Paul Lawson of Pembroke had a sensational 2012, taking 25 Division 2 wickets at 13.44. His performance in 2011 in Division 1 wasn't bad either - 22 wickets at 22.27, giving him71 wickets in total.

After Nick Jagoe in 10th, the Halverstown workhorse, Stuart Gallagher has taken 71 wickets at 11.54, with 8th place belonging to Ireland U15 captain Gareth Delany. In a similar vein to his cousin in Clontarf, Gareth has had a fantastc start to his career for Leinster, with 71 wickets of legspin at 18.17.

Whilst we're talking legspin, Rex Walsh of Merrion is at 7th with 74 at 18.19 and 6th on the list is Renjith Nair of Dundrum. Emphatically not a legspinner, and a wicket taker at most levels.

The top 5 is all that remains. Susheel Kumar of Leinster is in 5th place, having dominated Divisions 7 and 8 over the last couple of years. 78 wickets at 15.45.

There are only four players who have attained eighty. The first is a player that figured highly on the batting charts as well - Sanjay Saharan of Merrion. To  go with his 1044 runs, he has 80 wickets at 16.08. 

The bronze medal goes to Faran Khan of Pembroke, who was the leading wicket taker in the province in 2011 with 57. A quieter 2012 meaans 82 wickets at 13.57. Silver goes to the talents of Ali Qasim of Balbriggan. 83 wickets at 13.93, but most impressive was his 24 at 16.96 in Division 3. 

Finally to the one player who can proudly say he has raised his arms in glory more often than any other in the province in the last couple of years. Step forward Sandyford's Stephen Langton who has 84 wickets at 11.43

So there it is. The complete list of all those who have 50 wickets is below. Who will be first to 100?  

 

(*) Hammond and Trueman. Leading Test run scorer/wicket taker respectively - 1963-70

Gavaskar and Hadlee. Leading Test run scorer/wicket taker respectively - 1988-93

Tendulkar and Muralitharan. Leading Test run scorer/wicket taker respectively - 2008-now

Porterfield and Montieth - Current leading Irish run scorer/wicket taker in all cricket

Bergin and Boucher -  Current leading Irish run scorer/wicket taker in first-class cricket

Porterfield and Johnston - Current leading Irish run scorer/wicket taker in ODI cricket