Division 14 stats
Leading all time run scorer (2011-2016) - Adam Gilbride (Clontarf) - 839 runs @ 24.68
Most runs in a Division 14 season - Colm Reilly (Balbriggan) - 510 runs (2013)
Highest score - Jack Quinlan - 168 - Merrion 7 vs Wicklow County 2 - Anglesea Road - 6 July 2013
Leading all time wicket taker (2011-2016) - Tomas Mount (Mullingar) - 64 wkts @ 11.09
Most wickets in a Division 14 season - Tomas Mount - 28 wkts (2013)
Best bowling - Peter Crosse - 8-9 - Wicklow County 2 vs Mullingar 3 - Aravon School - 3 Sept 2012
Most matches - Frank Lonergan (Wicklow County) - 53 - (2012-2016)
Highest team score - 321-5 - Merrion 7 vs Wicklow County 2 - Anglesea Road - 6 July 2013
Lowest team score - 21 all out - Sandyford 3 vs Mullingar 3 - St Finian's College - 29 Aug 2015
Seven teams will embark on the good ship Division 14 for the 2014 season. To find out which ones will sink to the bottom of the sea, and which ones will break the records for circumnavigating the globe, read on.
Castleknock 3 were the last of the seven teams in this league to have lifted the Division 14 crown - back in 2013. A good bit has changed since then, and with standards rising, it is unlikely the Dublin 15 side will be able to rise to those heights once more. Castleknock have finished in 110th place in the league in three of the last four years, and then equates to bottom of this year's Division 14. Coupled with some less than impressive head-to-head records with the other teams in the group (winless from five matches against Adamstown 4, losing records against Laois 3 and Railway Union 5), it looks as if it could be a difficult year for the team.
Clontarf 6 famously won the Division 15 title last season, their first league title since 1990. Wherever they finish this season, it will be their highest finish since 2013, and there in lies the problem. It is of course possible that they can improve their performance again, and with the higher teams in Clontarf being amongst the strongest in the province, there is no reason why the lower teams can't match them. Unfortunately they have losing records against Laois (0-1), AIB (0-1) and no better than 2-2 versus Railway Union. It looks as if they may struggle so, we're predicting their best finish since 2013 - in sixth.
Everyone in the province will welcome Gorey Cricket Club to the cricketing family for 2017. They will be playing out of Courtown Hibernians FC, and who knows whether this will become an impenetrable fortress for the Wexford team? It is early days so far with not too many new players registered, and how strong they will be is something of a mystery. But with a large catchment area, there is no reason why they should not be able to hold their own in their first season, and we'll go with a solid fifth place for Gorey 1.
On paper, Railway Union 5 should have an excellent chance in 2017. They have good records against Adamstown and Castleknock and give as good as they get against Clontarf and Laois. Against that, last year was their worst ever finish, and they will need to finish at least fifth to beat that. Ongoing work on their Park Avenue ground will make for a tough first half of the season, and whilst it won't be a disaster, it won't be a hassle free ride to the league title either. We'll predict a two place improvement on 2016 - 107th and 4th place in Division 14.
On to the top three. Laois 3 find themselves at something of a low ebb, with the 104th that they have finsihed in two of the last three years being their lowest league places since we started recording such things in 2011. These things to need to be kept in context though - if they finish in 104th again, they will left the Division 14 title. That is definitely a possibility, but with a couple of other strong teams at the top of the league, Laois may just miss out. They have 50/50 records against both AIB and Adamstown - if they can turn those into winning records they will have a chance. They may win some of those AIB and Adamstown matches, but not all, and will have to settle for third place.
Adamstown 4 have been as consistent as it is possible to be for the last three seasons, finishing 108th from 2014-16. That would only be fifth, but there seems sure to be a move upwards from that position this year. Their 5-0 record against Castleknock 3 reveals a team that is really too good for Division 14. Currently, they are the 11th best fourth team, and will be looking to overtake North County in 10th. They will have to be promoted for that to be possible in 2018, and we think they may manage second.
That leaves AIB 1, 2016's Division 16 champions. The team hardly broke sweat last season, adding the Minor 2 Cup and Russell Court Trophy to their league title for a brilliant treble. A two division promotion would normally be too much, but it looks like AIB may be able to go up another gear. They have winning records over Adamstown and Clontarf, they are 1-1 with Laois 3, and should be able to make it successive league titles in 2017.
The first match of the season is on April 15, when Railway Union 5 travel to play Castleknock 3