By Jonty Ralphsmith
An even spread of contributors lifted Endeavour Hills to its second win of the season over the struggling Donvale in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association (VSDCA).
After opting to bat first in the one-day fixture, no-one was able to bat Donvale out of the game for Endeavour Hills, with four players scoring between 26 and 29.
Those scores, however, enabled for the formulation of several partnerships which prevented Donvale from getting any momentum.
Built off steady and careful run-scoring, Endeavour Hills dug in to set a total of 168.
Tight bowling up the top for the visitors led to Donvale feeling the scoring pinch, with skipper Madurawalage Jayasundera the biggest beneficiary with four wickets.
While several batters dug in to prevent a collapse, runs didn’t come easily for Donvale as Jayasundera, Ishan Kahatapitigama and teammates kept it tight, before ultimately bowling Donvale out for 118.
Noble Park had a similarly comfortable win, built off the back of Sahan Perera, who now has 502 runs at 72, comfortably the most in the competition.
After Malvern was given a sniff at 2/33, the hard-working number four batter combined with opener Joshua Crozier for an 86-run partnership which changed the momentum of the game, runs flowing more freely thereafter.
After setting 212 Malvern, Muharjithan Thedchanamoorthy struck early for Noble Park, claiming a wicket with the first ball of the innings.
Malvern never looked comfortable against his pace, slumping to 6/38 before ultimately being bowled out for 142.
Thedchanamoorthy finished with figures of 4/26 and was aptly supported Nishantha Weerakkody who claimed 2/20.
The win maintains Noble Park’s second-place position on the table, within six points of pacesetters Elsternwick and six clear of third-placed Caulfield, ahead of a clash with a middling Oakleigh team.
