For someone (such as me!) moving to Dublin in the mid 1990s, there was only one team in town. YMCA had dominated Leinster cricket for the previous ten years, winning 18 trophies from 1984 to 1994. The players involved in that phenonemal run have been eulogised ever since, so there is little need to adding to the legend - but for those of you too young to remember, the names of Garth, Lewis, Dunlop, Bailey, Burns, Starkey, Ridgeway, Haine, Nulty and McCready should be noted and researched.
But as we have seen time and time again across this series, dynasties always collapse, and YM's was no different. The years between that final Senior Cup win in 1994 and the start of our rankings in 2001 were devoid of trophies, but solid, as the Dublin 4 club stayed in the top half of the top division. But the decline had started, and by the end of the 2001 season it was possible to find a scorecard missing all except McCready from the above list.
Decline continued until 2004, from whence a recovery started. 2008 and 2009 saw something of a slum, before a renaissance that has seen the club rise to the very top of the sport on the island. Since the end of July 2013, YMCA have been number one on our rankings on eight separate occasions - although only one of those was for longer than six days, a 90 (cricketing season) day stay at the top from August 2014 until mid May 2015. The 117 days the club have been at number one places them sixth on the all time (post 2000) list and second to only North County amongst Leinster clubs.
YMCA's low - rating 46.169 - ranking - 43rd - date July 7 2004 - after 2 wicket loss to Rush
YM were relegated for the first time from the top league of Leinster cricket at the end of the 2001 season. Whilst some clubs immediately bounce back, for YM it got worse. The 2002 team (including Lewis, Dunlop and Taylor from the 1990s team) finished second from bottom in Division 2/Section B. Unbelievably, 2003 was even worse, and the team won only three league games to finish bottom of the second tier.
The shoots of recovery poked their heads above the soil in 2004, but it wasn't until the last frosts had departed. A wicketkeeper batsman by the name of Wayne Murray was brought to the club for the start of the season, and Murray immediately impressed, and dragged YMCA up from their low. They beat The Hills, CYM and Dublin University in the league cup (although lost to Leinster , North County and Phoenix) and although they beat Old Belvedere and CYM in the Senior Cup, the points gained for these wins were not high enough to elevate YM's ranking.
The expectation brought about by an ok start to the year evaporated in the league, as YM lost their first two games - to Rush and Old Belvedere before they travelled to Rush for the Senior Cup semi final (scorecard here on Cricket Europe). The four pronged bowling attack of Rush blew YM away, and the Claremont Road outfit were never in the match. Angus Dunlop top scored with only 23 as Niall Mullen took 5-44 (one of only two five wicket hauls in his Senior career) and YM set Rush 137 to win.
The YM bowling attack kept to their task well, and at 58-4 and 108-7, they had a chance as Simon Wilson-Moore took 3-38 and Jonny Harte 2-19. Saadat Gull was the hero for Rush, as he remained unbeaten on 55, as Rush squeezed home by two wickets.
Most of this YMCA team are still involved with cricket in the province and it is mark of the affection that those that play for the club feel for it, that many were at this year's YM dinner. Only Alan Lewis played first team cricket in 2016, but at least all those involved can say they were there at the very start as YM started their rise back to the top.
YMCA's high - rating 128.782 - ranking - 1st - date August 12 2014 - after 2 wicket win over Clontarf
Between 2004 and 2009, YMCA experienced the highs and lows of promotion and relegation, and couldn't quite establish themselves as a Division 1 club. Wayne Murray stayed until after the 2007 season, when he was replaced by Ben Dunk of Bg Bash and Australian fame. YM's very highest point was during their 90 day stay at the top. Reinhardt Strydom and James Parkinson arrived in 2009, as YM won Section B/Division 2 to be promoted once more.
Jack Tector came through the club's youth set up, and made the first steps in his cricketing career in 2010. Sameer Dutt and Albert van der Merwe joined in 2011, and then in 2012 Simmi Singh, Trent Johnston and Yaqoob Ali came to Sandymount - the number one team was forming.
Whilst appreciating this is difficult to keep track of, Jeremy Bray and Booby Gamble were the main players to announce themselves on the YM scene in 2013, with the final pieces in the jigsaw - Tom Fisher and soon to be Zimbabwe Test player PJ Moor in 2014.
The 2014 Leinster Senior Cup saw an early exit to Pembroke, the Irish Senior Cup saw a second round exit in a bowl out (YMCA had won a first round match in the same way), so it was the league that was to see YMCA's efforts placed. They were 9-2 going into this match against Clontarf on August 12 (losing matches to Merrion and Railway Union)
The team that had been assembled over the preceding years saw Lewis' experience, the youth of Jack Tector, Aaron Bailey and Sean Mcauley, with the rest of the team being Fisher, Singh, Moor, van der Merwe, Gamble, Ali and Rajesh Chawla. Spin dominated YMCA's attack as Clontarf batted first. The seam of Gamble and Chawla had combined figures of 0-107 from 20, whilst the spinners, Ali, Singh and van der Merwe had 5-78 from 30.
At 151-6, Clontarf looked in some trouble, but not for the first (or last) time, Eoghan Delany scored 48* to get Tarf to 210-6. Alan Lewis (68 - to date his last senior 50) and Simmi Singh (74) then put on 118 for the second wicket to break the back of the chase. PJ Moor went second ball before van der Merwe and SIngh added 48. That should have been the end of the match, but Clontarf's Joe Morrissey had other ideas, with five wickets falling for 22 runs. He took 5-16, his career best Senior return, to leave YMCA in massive trouble before Bobby Gamble hit 20 from 15 balls to see YMCA home by 2 wickets, and to their highest ever rating.
The lost the following week to Merrion, but went on to win the league title, their 5th league title.