Division 15 review - Part 2

Division 15 stats

Leading all time run scorer (2011-2015) - Colm Reilly (Balbriggan) - 335 runs @ 47.86
Most runs in a Division 15 season - Colm Reilly (Balbriggan) - 335 runs (2015)
Highest score - Michael Hughes - 121 - Dundalk 1 vs Balbriggan 3 - Jack Harper Memorial Ground - 1 Aug 2015
Leading all time wicket taker (2011-2015) - Munir Khan (Civil Service) - 20 wkts @ 7.00
Most wickets in a Division 15 season - Munir Khan (Civil Service) - 20 wkts (2015)
Best bowling - Munir Khan - 8-5 - Civil Service 4 vs Rush 4 - Civil Service - 28 June 2015
Most matches - Dave Nugent (Civil Service) & Syfuzzaman Khan (Civil Service) - 12 - 2015

Highest team score - 270-6 - Dundalk 2 vs Balbriggan 3 - Jack Harper Memorial Ground - 1 Aug 2015
Lowest team score - 28 all out - Dundalk 2 vs Clontarf 6 - Dromiskin - 31 May 2015

Review

Civil Service 4 - Champions - (Predicted 4th) - Batting Rating 130 - Bowling Rating 138 - Overall Rating 268

Service lost their first league game of the season in a low scoring affair at home to Clontarf, but then went on an eleven game unbeaten streak which saw them romp to the Division 15 title. Although their batting was not quite as strong as others in the league, they still had some serious performers, with Munir Khan scoring 332 runs at 33.20, Syfuzzaman Khan 271 at 33.88 and Mark Kilroy 240 at 24.0. It was the bowling that was the basis of Civil Service's triumphant season. Munir led the way with 20 wickets at 7.00, with Syfuzzaman adding to his batting with 12 wickets. Abul Shapon supported well with 15 wickets at 14.40. Civil Service 4 improved on their 2014 placing of 188th in the league, with this year's 113th. There is a dark cloud on the horizon though, as many of their key players are instrumental in the new Clondalkin Cricket Club which will be playing in the leagues in 2016. Syfuzzaman Khan passed 1000 career Cricket Leinster runs during the season (he now has 1070 at 28.92) the 370th person to do so since our records began in 2011! However, there are only nine who have scored 1000 for Civil Service, and he is not one of them.

Balbriggan 3 - Runners up - (Predicted 7th) - Batting Rating 154 - Bowling Rating 100 - Overall Rating 254

A solid performance from Balbriggan 3, built around the best batting in the division. Two losses to Civil Service in the first half of the season meant they were alwys playing catch up, but a five match unbeaten run to finish the season off, confirmed runners up spot. The finish equalled Balbriggan 3's previous best finish of 114th in 2013. Colm Reilly was the top run scorer in the division, with 335 runs at 47.86, and was ably supported by 295 runs from 14 year old Justin Kavanagh (@ 32.78) and Tayyab Hassan's 230 runs at 46.00. John Keeler was the leading wicket taker with 19 wickets at 12.21, with Zamir Hassan, and the youthful duo of Conor Perdue and Justin Kavanagh all passing the ten wicket mark.

Dundalk 2 - 3rd - (Predicted 5th) - Batting Rating 84 - Bowling Rating 87 - Overall Rating 171

A whole thesis could be penned on the 2015 season of Dundalk 2. Even after a bit of research, it is difficult to know where to start. Our rating of each team, which is based on how their batting and bowling attacks faired in comparison to other teams in the division, suggests that Dundalk should have been 7th. At the end of July, they hadn't won a single match on the field, with a walkover against Merrion 8 their only success. As can be seen above, they had been bundled out for only 28 against Clontarf 6. Those first six games saw only Scott McDonnell score more than 50 (in total!), with only Glenn Armstrong performing with the ball - 9 wickets at 19.56. What then happened is a little unclear, but it can probably be "blamed" on Michael Hughes. Before this season, his previous highest score had been 23 back in 2012. Availability may have been an issue in the first half of the season, as Hughes only played thrice, scoring 27, 42 and 21, before scoring a majestic 121 against Balbriggan on August 1st. Dundalk won that one, chalking up the highest score in Div 15 all season. After tasting the winning habit, there was no stopping Dundalk and they won the next four as well. Come season end, no one passed 200 runs, and only Armstrong really impressed with the ball (18 wickets at 15.44). But it was a real team performance, with 35 players turning out, and Dundalk 2 turning the corner after a few tough seasons.

Phoenix 6 - 4th - (Predicted 8th) - Batting Rating 93 - Bowling Rating 102 - Overall Rating 195

A proverbial two fingers from Phoenix 6 to this column. They were predicted to come 8th, and performed well, with the bowling the stronger suit. Fourth place saw Phoenix improve by 5 places on their 2014 position, and they can take something from that. The batting struggled somewhat, with Tom Stevens the only player to pass even 100 runs (he scored 209 runs at 52.25 in his five matches). In fact Stevens was a major factor in the season, with three of Phoenix's five wins coming in the five matches that Stevens played. The bowling was led by two bowlers at opposite ends of the age spectrum - Adam Gibson McKenna taking 11 wickets at 12.73 and Paddy Keating, 10 at 19.40

Clontarf 6 - 5th - (Predicted 4th) - Batting Rating 94 - Bowling Rating 96 - Overall Rating 190

A strong start to the season for Tarf, saw them win the first three games. Thereafter, a barren spell saw seven consecutive defeats, before a September win over Merrion saw them move to the middle of the table. That 5th spot is the same place in the league structure as they finished in 2014, so no better - or worse. The batting was dominated by Ben Makin (243 at 34.71) and Rana Tariq (301 at 43, and the leading run scorer in Clontarf this year (and 2nd highest in the province) by over 300 runs - 953 at 31.77). Skipper Aidan McDerrmott was the leading bowler with 16 at 12.75, and Daire Vickers the only other bowler with 10 wickets - 12 at 7.83

Greystones 3 - 6th (Predicted 1st) - Batting Rating 98 - Bowling Rating 85 - Overall Rating 183

In their third season, Greystones 3 slipped to their lowest league position, and made a bit of a mockery of our prediction that they'd finish top! But in many respects, the on field performance wasn't that important in 2015. A smooth move to the new ground in Druids Glen was the main aim of the year, and that succeeded. However, there wasn't too much time left in the season by the time the ground was ready, and the 3rds only got to play three home games. Philip Jonker led the batting with 179 runs in only three innings - the only other player to pass 100 runs was Ian Smale with 142 at 17.75. The bowling was also a bit underwhelming, with no one passing 15 wickets. Scott Doecke came top, with 14 at 13.29.

Rush 4 - 7th (Predicted 3rd) - Batting Rating 86 - Bowling Rating 97 - Overall Rating 183

Something of a stop start season for Rush. If they had carried on their form from pervious seasons, they would have run away with the league. As it was, they ended up with their worst finish - 119th in the league structure. The batting was where the main issues were, with only Nathan McGuire (158 at 22.57) and Aaron McGuire (116 at 16.57) passing 100 runs. Rush 4th's star player, Adam Ellison had something of a quiet season with the bat, but with the ball he still put in a decent season, with 14 wickets at 14.50. Aaron McGuire also completed a fine all round year with 14 wickets at 10.43.

Merrion 8 - 8th (Predicted 2nd) - Batting Rating 71 - Bowling Rating 96 - Overall Rating 167

Batting was the Achilles Heel of Merrion 8 - they only passed 125 once in the league, and still lost the one game where they scored higher (to Phoenix 6 after getting 176-8). It is always unusual when a Merrion team fails; we have become so used to them lifting titles in previous years. Before this year, Merrion 8 had won more games than they had lost, but the win rate has now slipped down to 48.15%. They wil bounce back. Nigel Bainbridge ended the season as top run scorer with 166 at 16.57, whilst Amardeep Dhiman and Bainbridge both took 11 wickets

Division 15 batting averages 2015 (Qualification 100 runs)

Division 15 Bowling averages 2015 (Qualification 6 wickets)