Eagles dumped

By Gavin Staindl
ENDEAVOUR Hills was knocked out of the Sub-District Twenty20 competition on Tuesday night after being out-classed by a superior Oakleigh at Warrawee Park.
Both teams needed the win to advance through to finals but Oakleigh was simply too good for the Eagles, comfortably moving through to the knockout round by 61 runs.
The Hills’ bowlers, led by coach John Hayes (0/17 from four overs), kept Oakleigh to a competitive total of 4/142 but their work was nullified by a tardy fielding performance.
Oakleigh’s Michael Splatt made the most of being dropped three times before reaching 51 runs.
At 3/92 with one ball left at the end of the 14th over, Endeavour’s Bihan Weerakoon dropped a sky ball at deep mid-off only to have it bounce off his fingers and into the fence for six. It was that kind of night for the Eagles.
Earlier, Oakleigh had enjoyed a high-scoring start to the day as numerous balls found the edge of the bat and skipped past the slips cordon to the boundary.
As Hills outfielder Henry Vettivelu admitted, the young Eagles side would need some of their opponents luck if they were to chase down 142 on a slow pitch.
And it was not long before Vettivelu, who replaced the injured Richie Saniga pre-game, found himself with the weight of his team’s chances on his shoulders.
With wickets falling around him, Vettivelu (15) steadied but came undone by a wonderful lunging catch at deep mid-on as he tried to heave the ball over the out-stretched fielder. With the middle order exposed, the Eagles lost wickets in quick succession before being bowled out for 81 in the final over.