One of the highlights of 2013 was the undoubted success of the relaunched RSA Inter-Provincial Series, which saw games being played in three different formats, 3-day, 50 and 20 over cricket.
There was now a clear pathway for club players to prove themselves at representative level, and ultimately a place in the international side.
Three players were handed international senior debuts in 2013, with Eddie Richardson, Craig Young and Andy McBrine wearing the shamrock for the first time.
From the first match there was some terrific cricket played with Leinster Lightning enjoying a real battle with Northern Knights in what was probably the match of the entire campaign.
Kevin O'Brien's hundred ensuring a dramatic last gasp win in front of a large crowd at The Hills played out in glorious sunshine.
The weather was a feature of the series - played out in the most part in ideal conditions - not like the counterpart Scottish series which suffered badly this past three seasons.
Leinster were for the most part dominant in the four-day encounters - save for the last game against the Knights at Waringstown - when Nick Larkin scored a double hundred and James Cameron-Dow almost spun them to the win - Andrew Poynter's battling hundred salvaging a draw in a highly competitive fixture.
The personal highlight for me of the multi-day format was the 20 minute period at Trinity where the fired-up pair of Peter Connell and Johnny Thompson denied Leinster the win - even the students stopped drinking their cheap lager for the denouement!
The T20 competition was also won by Leinster, pushed all the way by the Knights with the form of the Warriors a source of disappointment, as their batting struggled throughout the summer - early collapses being very much the order of the day.
It has to be said that each region had their own ideas over squad composition. Leinster picked the best available players regardless of age or international ambitions, while the Knights opted for a half-way house initially, before using all available Irish passport holding players.
The Warriors opted for youth and it was very much a steep learning curve as they were brushed aside time after time. Their lack of multi-day cricket was all too stark - as their almost hypnotic attraction to the ball outside off stump and impulsiveness against the short-ball was brutally exposed.
Coach Bobby Rao kept the faith, and the smile on his face as this was rewarded with a thumping win in the last match of the summer was a joy to behold.
Statistics don't always tell the tale of the competitions, but they are a good starting point for discussion and give a feel of just who were the winners and losers over the course of the season.
There were 69 players used in the series - NCU (24), NW (23) and Leinster (22).
John Anderson was the highest run scorer with 507 runs (56.33), ahead of Chris Dougherty 393 (49.12) and Kevin O'Brien 355 (71.00).
Honours with the ball went to Max Sorensen 28 at 19.93, Phil Eaglestone 25 (20.76) and Eddie Richardson 22 (18.95).
The irony that the two most successful Northern Knights players had played the majority of their cricket in the NW wasn't lost, and despite the possibility of selectors using players from other regions this never materialised.
Dougherty was the most successful in the field - he took a mammoth 26 catches, with his namesake Ricky-Lee next best with 16 catches and 3 stumpings - no other player managed double figures.
There were 1 double hundred, 2 centuries and 31 half centuries with the bat - Nick Larkin's 247 way and above the batting highlight of the year, while James Cameron-Dow was being touted as the next Regan West after he took the only five wicket haul of the year.
There's no doubt the tournament captured the imagination of most of the cricketing fraternity, with decent crowds at most venues - although it has to be said that they were poorly attended for the most part in the NCU. Indeed there was fierce criticism after the NCU league programme was closed for their only home Saturday game of the summer.
CricketEurope through its live coverage provided by the indefatigable Ian Callender enjoyed record traffic figures, showing there was at least a considerable online interest, not just in Ireland but from across the cricketing world.
Cricket Ireland's goal of Test status by 2020 depends on having a domestic first-class infrastructure. There's no doubt this was an excellent start, but with room for improvement in the years ahead.
Top ten batsmen (aggregate runs)
- John Anderson 507 at 56.33
- Chris Dougherty 393 at 49.12
- Kevin O'Brien 355 at 71.00
- Andrew Poynter 348 at 34.80
- Nick Larkin 309 at 103.00
- Ben Ackland 275 at 39.29
- Nigel Jones 272 at 38.86
- Johnny Thompson 270 at 30.00
- Lee Nelson 266 at 24.18
- James Shannon 251 at 20.92
Top five bowlers (aggregate wickets)
- Max Sorensen 28 at 19.93
- Phil Eaglestone 25 at 20.76
- Eddie Richardson 22 at 18.95
- Andrew McBrine 19 at 19.68
- Albert van der Merwe 17 at 26.29
- John Mooney 14 at 21.29
- Andrew White 14 at 22.71
- Peter Connell 13 at 22.08
- Johnny Thompson 12 at 24.42
- Tyrone Kane 10 at 16.10