VSDCA: Former Sri Lankan champion appointed captain of Endeavour Hills

There’s been a stunning development in the proposed joint venture between Endeavour Hills and Eastern club Mulgrave.

Tillakaratne Dilshan playing for Casey South Melbourne next season.

Endeavour Hills will go it alone in Sub-District cricket next season – and with former Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan as captain.

Against a backdrop of talk about a possible merger next year, the Hills and Eastern affiliate Mulgrave had agreed to a player-sharing arrangement for 2021-22.

The VSDCA’s first fixtures listed Mulgrave-Endeavour Hills.

Endeavour Hills president Arun Rajendran said this morning the joint venture would not be going ahead.

But he said a number of players who had been expected to line up for Mulgrave would be playing for the Eagles, including Dilshan.

Rajendaran said Sri Lankan vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne would also line up for the Hills, playing four matches before Christmas.

Chris Pereira, who captained Endeavour Hills last season, will serve as one of the two vice-captains. The other will be wicketkeeper Nav De Silva, who was Mulgrave’s skipper in 2020-21.

Lahiru Thirimanne on the attack for Sri Lanka.

Rajendran declined to comment on why the alignment with Mulgrave had fallen through.

But he said it had been “put to bed’’ and “won’t be happening’’.

He said Endeavour Hills would go into 2021-22 far stronger than previous seasons.

“It’s very exciting,’’ Rajendran said.

“We informed the members last night and the attitude was, ‘Well, when can we start training?’

“We’re on a mission here.’’

Dilshan, soon to turn 45, had a Premier Cricket stint with Casey South Melbourne last season and also played some T20 matches for Mulgrave.

Now living in Melbourne, the right-hander was an outstanding international cricketer, playing 87 Tests, 330 ODIs and 80 T20s for Sri Lanka.

He scored 5492 Test runs, with 16 centuries and 23 half-centuries.

In one-day internationals he plundered 10,290 runs at 39.27, cracking 22 hundreds.

Dilshan will become one of the most distinguished players to turn out in Sub-District cricket.

The same could be said for Thirimanne, who played Tests against South Africa, England, the West Indies and Bangladesh this year, scoring centuries against England and Bangladesh.

His Test tally stands at 42 matches and 2063 runs at 27.50.

Thirimanne has also played 127 ODIs for Sri Lanka.

He will be a five-point player in Subbies. Dilshan will be three.

Endeavour Hills has also recruited former Moorabbin VSDCA star Susantha Pradeep from Buckley Ridges in the DDCA, and he will be a one-pointer.

The Subbies have tentatively circled November 13 as the start of their season.

Mulgrave has been contacted for comment.