Phoenix suffered relegation from the top flight of Leinster Senior cricket in 2013 but there was much to admire and celebrate with the club as a whole.

The senior side used 23 players in total, although it was a relatively settled line-up with 11 players making ten appearances or more and 8 players featuring only once or twice.

The club won 3 of their 14 matches to finish bottom of the table alongside Leinster.

They suffered a first round exit in the Senior Cup, losing to an Andre Botha inspired Clontarf - the former Irish international scoring a magnificent 170.

The club didn't make it out of the group stages of the Alan Murray T20 competition, but did make it to the second round of the Irish Senior Cup. They beat Eglinton by three wickets before bowling out again to Clontarf.

The batting wasn't overly strong at the club as they managed just 13 fifties and a solitary century. Conor Kelly was the centurion and he also chipped in with 3 fifties in his haul of 502 runs at a healthy 38,62 - which saw him placed 15th in the overall LCU aggregate list.

Masud Ahmed and Syed Ali also scored 3 fifties apiece, scoring 391 at 24.44 and 363 at 24.20.

Corey Dickeson chipped in with 310 runs at 23.35 while other contributors of note were Tom Anders (224 at 16), Rian Jeggels 207 at 23.00, and Dumisani Magala with 206 at 25.75.

The bowling wasn't the most penetrative either, with none of their players making the top 20 in the LCU aggregate list.

Andy Leonard topped their list, with his 18 wickets costing 30.44 apiece, while Steve Davis (15 at 35.53) and Saad Raza (16 at 34.83) were even more expensive.

Magalan and Branem Adams both claimed 14 wickets apiece at a more economical 23.50 and 20.21 respectively.

On the fielding front, Syed Ali claimed ten dismissals, while Andy Leonard's nine catches placed him joint 8th in the LCU top 20.

Phoenix coach Matt Lunson reflected on the season saying: "Overall we're really happy with our 2013 season but of course very disappointed with how the first X1 faired in Division One.

"We were unlucky again to lose our club pro (Rian Jeggels) mid-season, due to a family bereavement, but it was great to see our captain Conor Kelly prove what a good player he is as he had a standout season with the bat.

"We have a core of quality youth players who continue to develop and it was pleasing to see them perform across all our senior teams. Irish U15 legspinner Ben White took 5 wickets on his first X1 debut in a T20 game in Malahide and took over 30 wickets for the year as a standout.

"With a month to go in 2012 four of our five teams were in the relegation shake up and this year at the same stage that situation was reversed with four out of five in touch of promotion. Our third X1 slipped up though and will drop to Division 7 next season while our fourth X1 won both the Division 10 league and the Intermediate Cup to give us some silverware.

" Our ladies went from strength to strength again and finished second in Division 3 with our first crop of underage girls ready to break through as well. The standout player here was Vanessa Kelada and she also became the first Phoenix lady to play in the open competitions.

"Our youth section has grown to almost 200 children and we look forward to continuing the development of that in 2014. From our ties with schools in the local community right through to our Phoenix Academy programme we think we're in pretty good shape heading into next season and beyond."

BATTING

  • Conor Kelly 502 runs at 38.62
  • Masud Ahmed 391 at 24.44
  • Syed Ali 363 at 24.20
  • Corey Dickeson 310 at 23.85
  • Tom Anders 224 at 16.00
  • Rian Jeggels 207 at 23.00
  • Dumisani Magala 206 at 25.75

BOWLING

  • Andy Leonard 18 wkts at 30.44
  • Saaf Raza 16 at 34.83
  • Steve David 15 at 35.53
  • Branem Adams 14 at 20.21
  • Dumisani Magala 14 at 23.50