Review of the season - RSA Division 10

How the league was won - Nobody knew it at the time but Saturday 28th April proved to be a crucial day in the fight for Division 10. Sandyford 2 beat Leinster 6 by 6 wickets in Marlay Park. Vimal Jacob took 2-8 from 8 overs, and Leinster never recovered - posting 108-7 from 40 overs. For the next four months, both sides beat all comers, with Sandyford proudly sitting atop the table. That changed on August 12th, as Cabinteely 1 won their second match of the season (after winning their first ever the week before), and Sandyford had lost their first match. It became critical for Sandyford on September 8th, as Phoenix 5 beat them. It all meant that there was to be a winner take all showdown between Leinster and Sandyford on September 15th. Leinster won by 96 runs to seal the Division 10 crown

How dreams turned to nightmares -  It is fair to say that the 2012 season came a couple of months too early for Cabinteely CC. They were another of the myriad of new clubs that have sprung up in new areas of the province in the last couple of years. They struggled at first (although four of their first six defeats were close affairs, with Cabinteel picking up full bonus points), but won three of their last five games, and will be a force in Division 11 next year. Due to the vagaries of the soon to be announced 2013 league structure, only one team was relegated. Most of the six teams in the division (who weren't promoted) flirted with relegation at some point, but the flirting proved to be just that, and no one ended up with the commitment of Division 11 in 2013

Heroes with the willow - Slightly bizarrely for a division in which Leinster and Sandyford dominated, their batsmen failed to make much of an impact in the league. Only two players reached 250, and they were both from clubs making their debut in the league. Neel Bhandari of Cabinteely was in second place with 266 runs at 33.25, whilst the top dog was Sunil Thomas of Swords, who scored 287 runs at 35.88. Only one player scored 100 runs or more at an average of over 40 - Grant White of Phoenix. A special mention to Craig Senior (who seems to sneak into every column). He scored 125 runs with out being dismissed  

Hell for leather - One player bestrode Division 10 - and he has already been mentioned. Neel Bhandari has plenty of experience in LCU cricket, and it came to the fore in Cabinteely's first season. He took 25 wickets (seven more than anyone else), taking them at an average of 6.96. Pembroke had three players in the top five (Sean Smith, Ben Sissini and Kieran Vulker being the others), and Stephen Langton of Sandyford took 18 wickets at 7.94 to take third place

Days to remember - In penning these reviews, I've tried to give as many clubs as possible a mention. In Division 10 though, it is the two new clubs, Swords and Cabinteely,  that seem to be cropping up every time. Stephen Langton of Sandyford had the best bowling in the division in 2012 (7-16 against Phoenix 4 in July), and in the process has become the highest wicket taker in all LCU cricket since the OCC's records began in 2011. But even then Swords and Cabinteely have three of the top ten best bowling performances in the division. And the choice as "Division 10 Day to Remember" is Midsummer's Day - June 24th. Sunil Thomas of Swords scored the season's only hundred, as Swords made 215 from 40 overs against Rush 3. This was the second highest total of the season - Swords also scored the highest - 250 also against Rush 3

Stat you may have missed - There were three tied matches in league cricket in 2012 - and two of them were in Division 10

Batting (Qualification - 100 runs)

Bowling (Qualification - 10 wickets)