Some clubs in Leinster have had a gradual rise in standard over the sixteen years that these rankings have been in operation, perhaps interspersed with the odd blip. The very odd club has been on a perpetual downward slope. And then there are the cyclical clubs, those who experience the highs and lows of club life in equal quantity.
By and large these clubs spend their existence yo-yoing between Divisions 1 and 2. There's nothing wrong with this, it is just a different way to run a club - although it doesn't do much for the member's blood pressure!
Phoenix are one such club. The Grand Old Man of Leinster cricket has had an up and down start to the 21st century, with four peaks and a corresponding three troughs.
The rankings start with a peak for Phoenix, which lasted from the start of the 2001 season until perhaps July 2001. Then form plummeted, with the depression lasting until August 2003. The next up-surge on the cycle lasted until the end of the 2007 season, with Phoenix entering a near four year slump, before a team developed that took Phoenix to Division 1 in 2011 and then runners up in 2012 in Division 2. A further mini-slump occurred as the team struggled in the middle of Division 2 in the 2014 season, before promotion in 2015 saw the latest boom.
That whole period brought four titles - with Phoenix winning the Alan Murray and the League Cup in 2000, the League Cup again in 2003 and then the Division 2 title in 2010.
Phoenix's low - rating 64.028 - ranking - 31st - date May 8 2010 - after 3 wicket loss to Glendermott
The middle of the four year slump mentioned above saw this low point, coming after a three wicket loss in the Irish Senior Cup to North West side Glendermott (scorecard on Cricket Archive here).
2009 had seen the last year of the old "Senior B" and Phoenix didn't cover themselves in glory, finishing mid table after winning five and losing five. 2010 didn't start in a blaze of glory either, as Phoenix lost their first match in the new Division 2 to The Hills' second string. The next match was the first round of the Irish Senior Cup, and before they knew what had hit them, Phoenix were 8-3 with Rory Flanagan, Jonty Wardell and Ben Larkin (older brother of Ben) all back in the hutch. The destroyer for Glendermott was former Ireland bowler Gary Neely, who took the first three wickets, going on to take 6-33 which is still the ninth best bowling recorded in the competition.
One batsman stood in the way of Neely's demolition job, and that player was one of the best to have played cricket in Leinster over the last century. David Langford Smith was already world famous after his exploits in the green shirt at World Cups, and did his best in this match to save Phoenix. He scored 125 from 138 balls, putting on 101 for the third wicket with Conor Kelly (53) - the next highest score was 18. DLS then took the ball, and reduced Glendermott to 19-2 before a wonderful team effort (four players passed 35) saw the visitors victors by three wickets with one ball remaining. Langford-Smith may have bestrode the match, but this was the lowest rated Phoenix team of the 21st century.
That summary paints a little bit of a false picture though. After that awful start to the season, Phoenix quickly improved, and by the end of the season, Phoenix were the first Division 2 champions.
Phoenix's high - rating 101.030 - ranking - 7th - date September 11 2004 - after 10 wicket win over Clontarf
Phoenix's team of 2004 is still the stuff of bar room talk, a dozen years after the event. The top six in the batting order is quite possibly the best top six there has been in the province this century - but probably the last century as well. (Scorecard here on Cricket Europe)
The team was made up of some of the best overseas players to have played in the province in that period, many of whom had become eligible to play for Ireland. Thinus Fourie played 20 times for Ireland as well as Merrion, Railway Union, CIYMS and Clontarf. Chris Torrisi was one of the most destructive players the province has seen, playing for Merrion before joining Phoenix. David Langford-Smith has already been mentioned above capped 43 times by Ireland, and brilliant on and off the pitch, with the bat or ball. Jason Molins - Ireland captain, one of the most talented batsman to have come out of Ireland in the last 40 years, and arguably the player who kick started Ireland from amateur also rans to associate powerhouse. Jeremy Bray needs no introduction - possibly the best batsman to have played cricket in Leinster. And at number six, Eric Godward, a Kiwi who may not have been on the same level as the illustrious names above him, but who was a more than decent player. That top six is enough to strike fear into most bowlers - even twelve years on.
And in this match against Clontarf, which Phoenix won by 10 wickets, all the bowling was carried out by players that have already been mentioned - Langford-Smith (who took 5-21), Torrisi, Fourie and Godward. On this occasion, Clontarf were blown away, and it should be remembered that this Clontarf team had its share of superstars - Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Greg Molins, Eoghan Delany, Bill Coghlan, and Paul Ryan.
For all that talent though, the Phoenix team of 2004 didn't quite deliver. They were second in the league and league cup to North County, lost to Rush in the Leinster Senior Cup, Strabane in the Irish Senior Cup and Clontarf in the Alan Murray.
But boy, were those six players good.