Whilst it may be nice to describe The Hills' route to being one of the top teams in Ireland as long and gruelling ascent, that wouldn't be strictly true. 2017 will be the 48th season in Leinster cricket for the club, which marks them out as one of Leinster's younger clubs.
Those 48 seasons have been marked with a generous helping of trophies, with the 2012 and 2014 Irish Senior Cups receiving pride of place along with Leinster Senior Cups in 1989, 1996, 2005 and 2006, Senior/Division 1 league titles in 1989, 2008 and 2013 and Alan Murray Cups in 2007 and 2013.
That large haul of trophies would indicate a sustained period of success, but that wouldn't necessarily be so, and the sixteen seasons covered by these rankings show three distinct phases.
2001-2004 was a low period, with no trophies. New players coming to the club from 2005 onwards saw an upsurge in fortunes with four major trophies finding a home in Milverton. Then from 2009 on, The Hills established themselves as a major club in Ireland, with four major trophies, including those two Irish Senior Cups.
The Hills' low - rating 61.023 - ranking - 34th - date May 11 2002 - after 24 run loss to Merrion
Back in the first years of the century, The Hills (like many other clubs in Leinster) were still a club composed of players born and bred in the local area. The names from the typical 2001/2 team leap from the pages of "Legends of Fingal Cricket". Players like Matt Dwyer, Mick Dwyer, Joe Clinton, Mark Clinton, Nadeem Ahktar, Sean Hoare, Johnny Archer, Barry Archer and Patrick Byrne. But for all the talents of that team, 2001 was a tough season, and the team only won two league games all year, the one positive being a run to the quarter finals in the Irish Senior Cup. Relegation to Section B/Division 2 followed, and so the 2002 started in the second tier.
Declan Moore took to the field again in 2002 (after missing the previous season) and Neal Umpleboi joined to strengthen the team. But after winning an early season Lewis Traub match against CYM, they lost to North County in the next match, before losing again to Merrion the next time out - the lowest rating that The Hills have received in this century.
The Hills weren't the only bowling attack to run into Brad Spanner's bat in 2002 (see screcard on Cricket Europe here), but his innings on May 11th was pretty special, scoring an unbeaten 140 froM Merrion's 240-5. Luke Clinton was tidy with 1-38, brother Joe a bit more expensive with 2-63 from ten. Nadeem Akhtar avoided the Spanner carnage with 1-28 from ten, whilst Mark Clinton and Brendan Moore may not be having nightmares, but won't be celebrating the match either.
Patrick Byrne and Mark Clinton added 94 for the third wicket, but 152-3 became 161-6 and The Hills finished 24 runs short. Close but no cigar. The team won next time out against Phoenix, and then narrowly failed to win promotion, finishing third in Section B.
The Hills' high - rating 120.888 - ranking - 2nd - date September 11 2013 - after 7 wicket win over Phoenix
From 2006, The Hills had a sustained period of good finishes in the league, which only ended with their relegation in 2014. Although the highest point was reached at the end of 2013, this only resulted in second place in Ireland (Waringstown being ranked higher). But on two separate occasions, for one day each, The Hills had already reigned. The two dates were July 19 2010 (rating of 115.81, ahead of Limavady and Railway Union) and June 8 2013 (119.087, ahead of North Down and Waringstown). Those fleeting visits to number one, made The Hills the fourth Leinster club to be number one in the 21st century - after North County, Clontarf and Railway Union but before Merrion and YMCA.
2012 saw The Hills's first Irish Senior Cup title, and by this stage the club were permanently at the higher echelons of the club game in Ireland. 2013 was actually not that remarkable year for the club - being sandwiched between the two Irish Senior Cup triumphs. But a solid league campaign saw the team win its first league title for five years, and this high point comes from the very end of that season.
Five of the team that took the field that day were home grown, Luke and Joe Clinton, Tomas Murphy, Jonno Andrews and Mark Dwyer. Cormac McLoughlin learned his cricket down the road, and the other five players made a massive difference to the club after their arrival, with Mike Baumgart (2008), Daryl Calder and Naseer Shoukat (2010), Nicolaas Pretorius (2012) and Osama Khan (2013) taking The Hills from solid team to one of the best.
This match saw Tomas Murphy take 4-45 to reduce Phoenix to 91-7. Corie Dickeson (43) and Sadaf Raza (31) helped get the score to 159, with Luke Clinton being the other multiple wicket taker with 2-8.
Despite slipping to 15-2 that was never going to be a problem for the champions elect and they romped home with over 20 overs to spare, Cormac McLoughlin scoring 54* and Pretorius 72 (from 56 balls).
One name is missing from that card and needs to be commented on. Max Sorensen joined The Hills in 2007 and has been pretty much an ever present since - for the club ,Leinster Lightning and Ireland . However despite playing in 11 matches in 2013, he was missing from this game that signaled the high point.