VSDCA: Unmukt Chand in cameo, Susantha Pradeep in star turn for Endeavour Hills
A Melbourne Renegade played for the Subbies club on Saturday and now it has secured two more top-liners for the second half of the season.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Sri Lanka Test player Lahiru Thirimanne played his third and last match for Endeavour Hills last week.
But the Hills had a handy replacement for him – a Melbourne Renegades squad member – for Saturday’s Round 5 VSDCA match against Box Hill at the Box Hill City Oval.
And after Christmas they’ll unveil powerful West Indian Kennar Lewis and former Indian first-class player Akshay Ballal, two more recruiting coups completed.
Renegade Unmukt Chand batted at No 3 against Box Hill and hit 35 off 48 balls, with 1 six and 3 fours.
The former India A and India U19 captain is the first Indian cricketer to join the Big Bash League.
Chand, 28, played at the Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, and turned out in 67 first-class matches.
He will line up with Endeavour Hills when not required by the Gades.
When Chand walked out to bat against Box Hill, Endeavour Hills was already well on top after a rattling 100-run opening partnership from captain Tillakratne Dilshan and Tyrell Panditharatne.
Dilshan smoked 65 off 46 deliveries, with 10 fours and 1 six, and Panditharatne cracked 41 off 40, with six boundaries.
But the best Endeavour Hills innings was to come.
Former Moorabbin champion Susantha Pradeep, back in Subbies after a stint with Buckley Ridges in the Dandenong District association, fired off 91 not out off 85 deliveries, nine of which he hit to the boundary.
The Hills piled up 6-293 off their 45 overs.
Box Hill replied with 194, a respectable effort headlined by opener Kyle Rayner’s 69.
Meanwhile, West Indian Lewis has agreed to terms with Endeavour Hills and will play the second half of the season, according to club president Arun Rajendran.
Lewis broke through in first-class cricket for Trinidid and Tobago and is now a T20 specialist, playing in the Lanka Premier League with Kandy Warriors and for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League this year.
“He’s a massive unit … he’ll clear any ground (in the VSDCA),’’ Rajendran said.
Ballal has played with success for North Dandenong and Springvale South in the Dandenong association.
He hit three centuries for North in the 2018-19 season.
Endeavour Hills is 3-2 and sixth on the north-east section ladder.
Premier Cricket: Men’s and women’s Team of the Week
Young guns lit up Victorian Premier Cricket in men’s and women’s sections. We’ve named our teams of the week. SEE THEM
Magpies double-act sends Blues reeling
A pair of Camberwell Magpies rising stars produced performances some cricketers can only dream of in a Premier Cricket under-18s game where a Carlton opponent almost stole the show.