Skills cost Hills win

By Justin Robertson
SCHOOLYARD errors curbed Endeavour Hills from making a competitive total in their one day loss against Noble Park on Saturday.
At 3/147, Hills coach and number four bat John Hayes said he expected his team to kick on and make a 200-plus score. Instead, his side lost an incredible 7/15 in the space of 45 minutes as Noble Park dismantled the Hills in an effort that saw the last six batsmen compile a collective total of seven runs.
“It was very much something you’d expect from under-12s – soft dismissals, run outs – extremely disappointed,” Hayes said. “We went from being in a strong position to a very ordinary one, very quick.”
Endeavour Hills was bundled out for 162, Hayes top scored with a gritty and patient 49. Noble Park’s Jake D’Atri did the damage with the ball claiming 5/28 from eight overs. In reply Noble Park easily passed the total losing only three wickets.
Even when Hayes lost his wicket at 4/148, he still felt they had all the momentum with Bihan Weerakoon (35) still at the crease, but the landslide of wickets that fell in such a short period could only be described by the coach as a “complete debacle”.
“After the innings we were very deflated which affected our bowling,” he said. “We came out and bowled too wide, too short on a pitch that wasn’t conducive to that type of bowling.”
The Hills take on Croydon this week in what appears to be a do-or-die clash for them, so early in the season.
“Wins are a premium this year, so we need to be two and two by Saturday night to make sure we are in a stable position,” Hayes said. “We have dropped back in the pack now and we have got to get a win on the weekend.”
The Hills, as a club, claimed five wins across six teams, with the first XI the only team last weekend to not chalk up a win, but Hayes will swing the axe, with many changes expected for this week’s team.
“You can’t have a 45-minute debacle like that and not have casualties,” he said. “We move on, you have those days, but we’ll start building for the weekend.”