Given the relatively benign weather [until last Saturday] we have had in the first part of the season it is a little surprising to note how far behind schedule the league actually is. Only Phoenix have completed their allocation of four matches and YMCA have only completed two. For this reason the first checkpoint of the year is even less reliable as an indicator of future results than normal [and that is saying something].
So what do we know. Clontarf have confirmed their position as the pre-season favourites. They are the only team undefeated in the league and they have managed this while missing a number of key players. They have been seriously tested only once [in the first match of the year v Phoenix which they won by only 22 runs]. They have used 15 players so far this season with Brad Barnes and John Mooney leading the batting averages but there have also been 50s from three other players. Seven bowlers have got among the wickets but it is John Mooney that leads both wicket takers and bowling averages. OCD1 is a competitive league and Clontarf will surely slip up at some point, but the question is does any other team have the all-round strength to beat them to the final flag. There does not seem to be too many obvious contenders act the moment.
The surprise package of 2017 has certainly been Phoenix. They came back to D1 last season after a couple of years in D2. They were probably fortunate enough to survive their first season in D1 but they have gained from the experience. The extra year has certainly made the Anders brothers into an even more formidable force and the team now has a good blend of experience and youth with no passengers on the team. In their four games this season they have only used 13 players which has helped provide consistency. Ari Karvalas [who has already proved an excellent signing] leads the batting but five different players have made significant individual batting contributions and seven bowlers have taken wickets [including three who total more than five wickets]. Given their recent history there will be obvious caution in the camp about talking up success but it is difficult to see Phoenix not achieving a top four place in the final table.
The Hills have greatly strengthened their team over the past couple of years and when everyone is available and fit it is a formidable outfit. Until last weekend they had the almost perfect start to the league campaign, with most expecting that the league would be decided by the head-to-heads with Clontarf. The loss in a 24 over match on Saturday to Phoenix has certainly harmed their cause but it does not fundamentally change the analysis. They still look like the team most likely to challenge Clontarf. It is serendipity [and not something engineered by the competition administrators] that the final match in the series [17th June] and the last match of the year is between the two clubs. The Hills have so far used 15 players in their three games, Perhaps surprisingly given their impressive batting line up there has only been one century and two half centuries. Five bowlers are in the wickets but only one, Yaqoob Ali, has taken five or more.
What then can be said about the other end of the table. Often it is the struggle to avoid relegation that provides the greatest interest for clubs and spectators alike. 2016 was perhaps unusual in that both the promoted teams, The Hills and Phoenix, survived their first year back in the top league. It is more common for one of the two promoted sides to drop down again. This has happened to Cork before and they are certainly struggling at the moment. With an eye over shoulder at what is happening in D2 [will Trinity secure one of the top two spots and thus mean that there will only be one club relegated from OCD1] they will no doubt be targeting their main rivals for the last two spots and hoping that a couple of key wins will be enough to get them off the bottom rung.
Who will they most likely be competing against. With only two matches played [although they were lucky to survive their encounter with The Hills which if it had continued for a few more overs would have resulted in a likely loss by DLS] it is probably premature to confine YMCA to the battle for survival. But their results so far this season would suggest that they could easily find themselves in the mix in the relegation battle at the end of the year. Much will depend on strengthening their bowling attack - and the return of Bobby Gamble when his university studies are over will certainly help in this regard.
The other team that on current form seems most likely to be battling to avoid the drop is Leinster. They had an important win at the start of the season v Cork County but since then they have struggled. Their batting in particular looks brittle and there have been only two 50s recorded so far. Jayden Brown and Joe Carroll have led their bowling attack with some success but as a bowling unit they have suffered at the hands of Pembroke, Clontarf and [in the ISC] Brigade where they have conceded scores of @250 or more. So far 13 players have turned out for Leinster, the fewest in the league, with nine of them in all three matches - a positive that they can certainly work on.
The other two teams in the league, North County and Pembroke, are in that no mans land where the direction of the season has yet to unfold. On paper looking far too strong to have to worry about the bottom half of the table - they have not yet put together the consistency of performance that would suggest they could challenge for the title. In both cases they are looking like sides that are capable of beating anyone in the league on their day - potential banana skins for teams chasing the championship - but not strong enough to compete for the highest honours. In North County’s case this may stem in part from their heavy reliance on their captain Eddie Richardson with both bat and ball. He has already made 242 runs in three games at an average of 121 and a scoring rate of just short of 150. He has also taken eight wickets at an average of 11.38 and an economy of less than 4 runs per over. He cannot be expected to maintain such levels of performance in every match [and if he did there is an a risk he might be selected for more representative matches and perhaps restrict his club availability]. NC have a deserved reputation for coming out on top in close encounters. They will need this determination this season and a better spread of runs and wickets.
Pembroke have perhaps suffered most from the unavailability of key players due to International duty and university commitments. If the full team reassembles in the second half of the season they will be a difficult team to beat - but will it be too late by then. So far they have used 14 players in their three completed games. No one has made a century - but there have been four 50s from three different players. Paul Lawson [7W] has led the bowling but there has been good all-round support with seven others in the wickets. At the moment Pembroke have one win from three - so they have ground to make up.
The summary position at the end of May [with a number of matches from Rounds 2 and 3 to complete] is set out below. ‘All’ refers to the number who have played in all matches and ‘YP’ the number of U18 [Youth] players.