Hopefully Waringstown’s win last Saturday in the final of the Irish Senior Cup will inject a fresh impetus into the competition going forward given that it was a rare victory for an NCU club side in the last 20 years.

Indeed, it was only the second time in those decades that an NCU team has won the trophy and that was also Waringstown in 2011 when they defeated Instonians in an even more rare all NCU final.

But will Waringstown’s win level the playing field and bring northern clubs closer to the Leinster clubs that have dominated this competition in recent times?

Unfortunately, the records say otherwise. There has always been an element of luck in the Irish Senior Cup. Getting a home draw, avoiding the big names and beating the weather are three important variables that have destroyed the hopes of many clubs. But luck generally evens itself out over time, although some teams, like players, always seem to be luckier than others.

That said, when we review the performances of the northern teams this year we have to say that overall they were disappointing. Waringstown apart, only Civil Service North performed with any great distinction, but their fine run to the semi-final belied their inconsistency in local competitions.

The North-West challenge virtually floundered at the first hurdle when only Ardmore and Bready made it to the 2nd round, the latter courtesy of Terenure’s withdrawal. It mattered little as both fell at the second hurdle and the North-West interest was over before the competition moved into second gear.

The NCU clubs didn’t fare much better because the last eight standing included six Leinster teams and all the matches were in Dublin! Fortunately Civil Service North and Waringstown defied the odds and won on the road only to be rocked by another quirk of the draw and two more journeys to Dublin for the semi-finals.

That proved a match too far for the Stormont men, but Waringstown were already on a roll and their win at Pembroke gave them the lucrative prize of a home draw in the final. And as they say in all the good books, the rest is history. But is it?

Yes, Waringstown’s win and the bragging rights that go with it will ensure there is added bite to the Leinster challenge next year, but the Villagers are a team apart in Ulster cricket and have raised the bar for other northern clubs to follow if they want to win the major club trophy in Irish cricket.

That won’t be easy as significant changes are taking place at clubs throughout both unions as not everyone has the resources or the strategy to compete on spending power. CIYMS stand apart as the Belmont club has the playing resources to go the distance, but this year had the misfortune to draw tournament favourites and beaten finalists Merrion away in the 1st round.

Perhaps the rules in this competition and within the unions need reviewed? Players playing another club in another union and the import of a hired gun replacement for the final were controversial issues, and there appears little chance of a club winning the ISC without overseas recruitment.

Waringstown’s South African pro Ruan Pretorius played three innings and scored 254 including two centuries and was dismissed only once. His replacement for the final JP De Villiers also proved decisive with both bat and ball and was Man-of-the-Match.

Merrion also exercised some strategic overseas recruitment this season so on balance the playing field between the two clubs was probably level, but this is where the ISC and perhaps the top of Irish club cricket has now reached.

Only the strongest will win and to be strong you have to recruit and to recruit you need an affluent sponsor or a rich benefactor. These patrons are getting thin on the ground up north and the signs are that Waringstown and CIYMS may be flying the flag alone in the foreseeable future.

Several clubs have already stated they won’t compete on buying power and the gap is certain to widen between the haves and the have-nots.

And the solution? There is no solution. Irish club cricket is consumed by professionalism and whether you like it or not, it is here to stay.