This week we turn our attention away from the individuals to the Clubs and the teams.
In Leinster cricket we currently have 34 Clubs represented throughout the leagues by 124 teams. Some Clubs have many sides entered into the leagues, such as Merrion and Leinster, whose hopes are carried by as many as eight teams. Others manage with one side playing league cricket, often with a wide base of players, such as Greystones Cricket and Cabinteely.
Using basic mathematics and the wonders of Microsoft Excel I try to bend and manipulate figures to fit my theories. And that is all they are, my theories. You may wish to insert the word “crackpot” into that last sentence. My methods are not very scientific, definitely not based in fact and not even really subject to analysis. Just the ramblings of my mind working out different ways to rank Leinster cricket teams.
In pure percentage terms in the league, the most successful Club to date would have to be relative newcomers, the phoenix of the flames, Ring Commons. [It’s not often you see flames and ring in the same sentence and it be that clean]. With only one team, but with a percentage in their league of 96% they are going to be hard to catch. They are also the highest percentage of any single team. The top 10 teams are:
A three-way fight for the Division 11 crown has ensued with three of the top ten coming from that league. Division 11 could be a good place to watch cricket in August.
In terms of average league positions the picture changes, dramatically. Allocating a placing to each side based on their league position, ie Leinster 1 lead division 1 and thus are 1, Pembroke 1 lead division 2 and thus become the 9th side (eight teams in Division 1), then we apply a simple average to a Club’s team rankings.
Ring Commons plunge to the opposite end of the table with only one team ranked 99th out of the 124 teams in the leagues.
At the top it is Cork County, with again only one team and being in Division 2 they get a high ranking. This is an anomaly as Cork’s junior teams play in the Munster leagues and don’t get to pull down the first XI ranking.
For Clubs for whom all of their teams play in the Leinster leagues the top 5 are: YMCA, The Hills, Terenure, Malahide and Merrion.
Also to be noted is how this system (using the word loosely) disadvantages the newer small clubs who have yet to find the league and position their talent deserves. The OCC had an impossible task before this season deciding which teams should play in which league. Some of their decisions have proved, albeit only with the benefit of hindsight, to be incorrect and no doubt there will be some re-alignment in this off-season.
Interestingly (again a word which might not live up to its dictionary definition in this article), there are more changes when we compare sides based on the individuals named on the starring list on those teams. There are so many holes in this method I won’t list the anomalies fully here, but it doesn’t take account of any players excluded from the starring list by the OCC but lumps such players in with a Clubs bottom side. The starring lists were taken from last week (happy holidays Paul) and there remains a major doubt as to the merit of this exercise. Maybe I have too much time on my hands and should take up more umpiring. There may be some of you who wish I’d spend less time umpiring.
The top sides, based on the individuals ranking and the players on the starring list are lead, I am proud to say, by Pembroke 1, with 10 of the side to be found in the top 150 ranked individuals and an average ranking of 104. The other top sides, ranked with this peculiar ranking system are: North County 3, Leinster 3, North County 1, YMCA 3 and YMCA 1. Lower teams do get the rough end of the stick with more players playing sporadically and having low individual rankings. It is also no guarantee of team success. North County 3 are currently on 44.89% and lie 4th in Division 5 and Leinster 3 are currently on 26.67% and bottom of the same league. I won’t name the teams at the other end, but suffice to say my own Pembroke 6 are not shining in 108th place with an average ranking of 1,343rd.
All of which goes to prove the adage, “lies, damn lies and statistics!”. My favourite thought is “using statistics like a drunk uses a lamp-post, for support not illumination.”.
Once again I offer anyone the chance to see how their team is doing, or even their own statistics, or indeed any feedback, you may do so here or if you wish to vent directly to craig@cricket.ie. I’d also gratefully accept any ideas for next week’s contribution.