The VSDCA club which welcomed Chris Gayle and a host of ex-Test stars has lost full member status of the historic competition. PAUL AMY reveals why.
Victorian Sub-District club Endeavour Hills has taken another hit, copping a $7500 fine and having its Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association affiliation put on probation.
The Subbies board said the Hills’ actions in the past 18 months “adversely reflected’’ the good name of the competition.
It has changed Endeavour Hills’ status from “full member club’’ to “probationary club’’ for the next two years.
The board will review its performance in 2023-24 and 2024-25 before reassessing its standing.
The club was rarely out of the headlines last season after recruiting a string of international players, including Chris Gayle, to play in two exhibition T20 matches at Dandenong’s Shepley Oval.
But ahead of the matches a player attached to the Hills was charged with criminal offences, with police alleging he stole more than $200,000 to pay for the recruiting spree.
They confirmed the charges — 18 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime — two days before the first exhibition late last November.
It went ahead, with Gayle and Pakistan veteran Shoaib Malik arriving at the ground in a black Mercedes to line up alongside fellow Test players Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne against Queensland club team Western Suburbs.
Gayle cracked 95 not out off 65 balls before taking in a set from DJ Havana Brown during the innings break.
The second game was cancelled.
Dilshan, Karunarate and Thirimanne also played VSDCA home-and-away matches for Endeavour Hills, but none returned after Christmas.
The club had threatened legal action against the Subbies over their player-points assessment of Thirimanne.
They marked him down as a five-pointer, but Endeavour Hills was adamant it should have been four.
An independent Cricket Victoria panel ruled in the club’s favour.
In a June 14 email to clubs marked “confidential’’, VSDCA president Phil O’Meara said the board believed Endeavour Hills “has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the association’’.
He said the fine and the change in its affiliation status “reflect the board’s view of how they consider the actions of Endeavour Cricket Club over the past 18 months have aversely reflected on the good name of the VSDCA across the broader cricket community’’.
O’Meara is overseas and could not be contacted but VSDCA secretary Ken Hilton told CODE Sports: “The penalties reflect how seriously the VSDCA board consider the actions of Endeavour Hills.
“Nobody on the board or across the competition has got any problem with a club trying to improve itself and be more competitive.
“But what we’re asking our 32 clubs is to do it within the framework of the association. I’m not going to go through everything that’s happened – it’s all been documented in various articles – but when you start questioning the integrity of the board and board officials, it’s not the appropriate thing to do, and it had an impact.
“We don’t want to lose Endeavour Hills. They’ve got good facilities and they’ve been a good club since they joined the VSDCA. It’s not the board’s intention to show them the door or anything like that. But the board felt strongly that the good name of the association had been impacted through their actions and various comments that were made.’’
Hilton said he had had no contact with Endeavour Hills but understood the club was disappointed with the sanctions.
Arun Rajendran has stood down as president, with Sagar Aher taking over.
The club has yet to appoint a senior coach.
The Hills, who joined the Sub-District association in 1998-99, have been contacted for comment.
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