Division 5 stats
Leading all time run scorer (2011-2016) - Brian Gilmore (Malahide) - 1316 runs @ 37.60
Most runs in a Division 5 season - Hamish Manks (Malahide) - 575 runs (2015)
Highest score - Nicky Kenny - 160* - Merrion 3 vs Railway Union 3 - Park Avenue - 14 May 2011
Leading all time wicket taker (2011-2016) - Conor Gibbons (Malahide) - 79 wkts @ 20.33
Most wickets in a Division 5 season - Adam Craig (Clontarf) - 27 wkts (2012)
Best bowling - Michael Cotter - 7-30 - Terenure 2 vs Phoenix 3 - Terenure - 10 May 2015
Most matches - Conor Gibbons (Malahide) - 57 - (2012-2016)
Highest team score - 406-8 - Mullingar 1 vs Terenure 2 - Terenure - 14 June 2015
Lowest team score - 29 all out - North County 3 vs Clontarf 3 - Castle Avenue - 5 May 2012
Our previews temporarily miss out Divisions 6 and 7 to concentrate today on Division 5 which starts over the Easter weekend.
But to be perfectly honest. we could have also said that they we wanted to have a look at Division 5 because it is so darn interesting. Division 5 this year has everything - nine teams, who all could realistically say that they have a chance of winning; a few up and coming teams who could surprise a few; a couple of established teams experiencing slight decline; and a couple of champion teams who are there to be shot down.
In 2012 and 2013, Pembroke 3 were the best third team around, but since the 2012 peak have slowly dropped down the leagues. That doesn't mean the slide has to continue, but in a league that looks so strong, it is difficult to see where Pembroke's wins are going to come from. They haven't played Balbriggan 2, Clontarf 3 or Longford 1 in the last six seasons - none of which are going to be pushovers. There are losing records against YMCA 3, Adamstown 2 and Merrion 4, all of which look to be tough. That just leaves winning records against Leinster 3 (six wins in seven matches since 2011) and Clontarf 3. If the Broke finish in the same position as last year, they will be 6th in this nine team league. But that is as good as they can expect, and we're going to go with the harsh prediction of 9th place. But in a strong league, someone has to be bottom.
Leinster 3 have won 12 league titles over their history, but only one since 1980, summing up the fact that they are no longer kings at this level. There is no disputing that they are a Division 5 team, finishing between 4th and 7th every year. And as with Pembroke, it is difficult to see how they are going to win games. In previous years, Longford 1, Balbriggan 2 and Adamstown 1 would look like possibilities, but that doesn't look to be the case any more. Merrion 4, Clontarf 3, YMCA 3 and Greystones 1 look to be out of their league. And that means trouble. Leinster have flirted will relegation in recent years, but 2017 could be the year of the drop. 8th.
Let us cut to the chance. Yes, Adamstown 1's rise through the ranks has been a great story for all to follow. But that doesn't mean it has to continue until then win Division 1 in a few year's time. Improvements have been incremental, with last year's jump being only three spaces up the ladder. The same as 2016 would be bottom, so another two places are needed to stay up. With no big signings this year (as far as we can tell!) it could be a close run thing, and their 1-4 record against Longford shows that they may not be on the same level as their fellow promotees from Division 6. A narrow escape and 7th place.
Balbriggan 2 should provide the easiest pieceof analysis for this article. A sleeping giant of the lower divisions that awoke in 2016, but will find a multiple league promotion too much to cope with. But voices within the club are confident and the team is much stronger than last year. A title push looks to be too much (after all Balbriggan 2 don't have a single win against any of the other teams to their name), but mid table would still be a major improvement - they need to finish 18 league places higher up the ladder if they are to avoid relegation. They may just do it, finishing 6th.
Clontarf 3 don't live up to the achievements of their 1st and 2nd team brethren/sistren, and should possibly be pushing towards the Division 5 title. But there are lots of other teams trying to do the same thing, and Tarf don't quite have the required level to challenge. They having losing records against Greystones 1, Merrion 4 and Pembroke 3 - which suggests they have the talent to beat most other teams but not consistently enough. Their best performances of the past six seasons (2012 and 2013) would leave them top - their worst performance (2014) would be bottom. We'll predict somewhere in between, so 5th.
Longford 1 are turning into a difficult team to beat. Their previous history includes decent records against Adamstown (4-1), Merrion 4 (1-1) and Clontarf 3 (1-1), and that is a pretty decent pointer that they are not going to struggle. They have improved by three places every year which would mean 6th. But we're going to be slightly more optimistic, and as they club starts to get more and more organised, their on pitch performance will improve, so we'll go with 4th.
On to the top three (without remembering that this could end up being the botton three). Merrion 4 defy description. They should struggle every year - a fourth team playing in a 3rd teams' world. This is no one off, with many players contributing at different times to ensure that no other 4th team has got within six places of Merrion 4 (Leinster 4 in 2012). So whilst it would be tempting to say that this is the year the Merrion 4 dream will end, there is no evidence to support it. The only blip on their radar concerns their loss of three matches against Greystones, which suggests they aren't going to win the league, but will finish in a credible 3rd.
Greystones 1 have been somewhat astral over the last four years. Starting as a small, distant star, before exploding sun like on promotion to Division 4. The only question is whether they will now disappear into a black hole after relegation (no complaints from astrophysicists please). There have been a few departures from the team roster, but the quality should just about hold up. They have won their only two games against YMCA 3, a stat that no other team can get close to. First teams always have to be that much better than lower teams in other clubs, with Cricket Leinster's starring system providing an in built (and possibly purposeful) bias towards the bigger clubs, but despite that, Greystones should be good enough to bounce back to Division 4.
And that just leaves YMCA 3. They were the best 3rd team in 2015, but lost their crown to Merrion 3 last year, and will be behind both Merrion and Phoenix 3 this year. But they still look like the team to beat, and have to be the favourites to add to the league titles that they won in 2012 and 2013. YMCA as a club don't look that much weaker than in 2016, but that isn't to say they won't be one of the strongest around, and it is difficult to see anything other than a YMCA 3 Divison 5 title
The season kicks off with a double header this weekend, both fascinating matches. Longford 1 travel to Druids Glen to take on Greystones 1, and Balbriggan 2 go to Castle Avenue to play Clontarf 3.