Hills ton brings them home

By Marc McGowan
A CHANCELESS Peter Edwards ton helped Endeavour Hills cast aside Mount Waverley by 73 runs at Mount Waverley Reserve on the weekend.
Edwards this season played his 250th game for the club, but has struggled through a lean summer with the bat.
The veteran was even in contention to be dropped for the Mount Waverley match, but looks to have shored up his position with his maiden VSDCA first XI century.
The Hills’ second straight victory moves it into seventh place – only a win behind ladder-leader Caulfield.
Mount Waverley’s opening attack made a spirited start to the contest on Saturday, restricting Endeavour Hills to 4/42.
But Chris Peake (28 runs) and Edwards (136) dug in to prevent another Hills collapse.
Their 64-run stand took Endeavour Hills’ tally beyond 100, but it was Edwards’ 100-run alliance with Richard Saniga (28) that ensured the visitors would post a sizeable target.
A couple of the Hills’ tail-enders played cameo innings as it reached 9/300 – an impressive total considering the side had not passed 200 in an innings until the previous round.
Chanaka Gunawardana (5/91) claimed his first five-wicket haul of the season to head the hosts’ bowling figures.
Mount Waverley’s top order struggled in reply much like its Endeavour Hills counterparts.
Saniga (2/64) snared two scalps as Mount Waverley slumped to 4/68 before the batting side produced some rearguard action.
Captain-coach Rob Bartlett (57), a former state representative, and Michael Millier (28) started a fightback, but Mount Waverley’s hopes took a hit when they both fell with the score on 139.
Bartlett was dropped twice, including the first when he was yet to score.
Rajantha Perera (46 not out) also tried to offer resistance, but wickets fell consistently around him.
Anthony Ellis (27) – in his first double-digit tally of the season – joined Perera in a 66-run ninth-wicket partnership, but all it did was prolong the inevitable.
The Hills ultimately dismissed Mount Waverley for 227, with Shane Peake (4/61) doing the best of his work late.
In-form fast bowler Matthew Foenander (2/33) was the other multiple wicket-taker.
Endeavour Hills captain-coach Vaughan Baxter praised his players’ performance, but admitted there were some worrying moments early on.
“I got stuck into the boys when we were 4/42 because three of our top four gave their wickets away and I was pretty disappointed with that,” he said.
Baxter said a key to the team’s success was team harmony after a tumultuous off-season that saw nine first XI players leave.
“We all know how many players we’ve lost, but there’s a really good feeling in the team and we’re very happy with the way things are going,” he said.
“We’re still bottom on percentages (out of the clubs on five-and-a-half wins) because our losses have been pretty convincing.
“We’re not looking at finals; we just want to keep winning. The most games the club has won in the ones is five and a half and that’s where we’re at at this stage.”
The Hills take on the ninth-ranked Kingston Saints in a two-dayer starting at Sydney Pargeter Reserve on Saturday from 1pm.