Hills run comes to an end

By Gavin Staindl
LOSING two wickets moments before tea was the turning point for Endeavour Hills as they were bundled out of the Victorian Sub-District finals race by Balwyn at Sydney Pargeter Reserve.
Endeavour Hills had a chance early to attack the Balwyn score but untimely wickets caused the Hills to wind up 83 runs short of Balwyn’s day-one total of 253.
Coach John Hayes (30) and Richard Saniga (56) teamed together to take the Hills past 100 but when Saniga and Matt Peake (1) were dismissed on the stroke of tea the Hills fell from 3/100 to 5/106 and lost all momentum.
Hayes admitted he had hoped to go into the tea session looking to attack the Balwyn line-up but instead had to consolidate and resurrect the innings.
“We got into a position to win it but we lost two quick wickets before tea and had to reconsolidate,” Hayes said.
With some wet patches on the pitch creating some ugly bounces, the Hills’ batters could never let their guard down.
“At times is was slow and at other times it popped,” Hayes said about his home pitch.
“It was hard to pick up singles and you had to try and hit it over the top.
“Shane Peake had one that hit a soft spot then bounced up and flicked him on the glove and there was nothing you could do about that (dismissal),” Hayes said.
With Peake (18), Jarod Pickering (10) and Bihan Weerakoon (15) all getting starts but failing to post bigger scores, Hayes pointed at Balwyn’s ability to build on scores as the key difference between the two teams.
The loss means, barring a miracle outright victory over undefeated Oakleigh, Endeavour Hills is out of finals contention and will continue to look to next season for success. “We will look to the future selection wise. “When you are playing the top side you have the chance to make a name for yourself,” Hayes said as he eagerly awaits the challenge of playing the yardstick of the competition.