Since 2001, every league and cup match from the upper echelons of the mens club game in the three major unions has been recorded, analysed, and then hidden away on the inner pages of Leinster CC's website. So in pursuit of fame, fortune and a few extra readers, that column has now been transferred to the hallowed pages of this site.
In the bar of every club in the land, there must occasionally be a conversation based on the arguement , "We are better than....", "Oh no you're not". So with too much time on my hands, I set out to find a method of at least helping to find out the answer.
The ICC's national team workings provided a starting point - and to be honest an ending point as well. The system is based on the premise that the opposition you play determines how good you are yourselves. A win against a high flying Australia would earn more points than a loss against a "pennyless" (irony intended) Zimbabwe. At any moment in time, each team/country would have a ranking, and hence you would get a different number of points by beating Zimbabwe in April than you would in August.
Hopefully you are still following. An average score could then be built up, with matches in the most recent 365 days counting for more than those over a year ago - and those even more than matches over two years ago. This rolling average gives a leader board for all the clubs in the country at any time.
It may be advisable if you're thoroughly confused, to check out the ICC ODI Championship wiki page.
So I had the method; it now had to be related to the game across the provinces. Thanks to the tireless work of Barry Chambers and all at CricketEurope full results from the LCU, NCU and NW are all readily available - and indeed they have been from 2000. Unfortunately, results from Munster and Connacht have been harder to come by, and hence aren't yet included - apart from their performances in the Irish Senior and National Cups.
Only matches with 1st XIs included (meaning that not all matches in the LCU Division 2 count), and T20 competitions are excluded. And that, as they say, is that. All that needed to be done was to enter the results for the 7264 matches since the start of 2000, and see what came out.
In our next article, we will look at the brand new 2013 rankings, but for a now, a quick look at who has been the top dogs nationwide, as well as in Leinster
Two teams stand out from the national rankings - the Donemana team that was number one from 2002-2004 and the North County team - number one in 2005, 2006 and 2008, number one in Leinster from 2003-2008 (and number two in Leinster in 2002 and 2009-2011!
But wait!, I hear you shout. If the teams from the NCU and North West are so good, why have Leinster teams been dominating the Irish Senior Cup for the last 10 years? A good, point, and one which I will go onto explain in subsequent articles. The fuller picture can be found by looking at the graphic below, which reveals the strength in depth in each province.
2005/2006 is the crucial year when analysing the relative strengths of the unions. Before 2006, the North West were by far the strongest province. But as tides turned, immigration increased and the economy boomed, cricket in Leinster was given a boost, allowing better organisation, coaching and deveopment sturctures to come to the fore.
Since then, there have always been four or five LCU sides in the top 10, and at least seven sides in the top 20.
Next week, we will look in detail at the 2013 rankings. How far will Clontarf have risen after their triumphant season? How about The Hills, Merrion and YMCA, three teams who are as good as any in Ireland? Have Leinster clung on to their Cricket Leinster number one spot? All will be revealed.