Glenn Maxwell 1

by Patrick Loughlin

‘Oh?’ Will said hopefully. Maybe Zoe’s toughness is just for show.

  ‘Yeah, I’m really looking forward to whipping both your butts in beach cricket!’ Zoe giggled, then punched him hard on the arm.

  Nope. She’s just tough, thought Will. Then he realised that he and Darren were going to have to play on the same team for the game of beach cricket. Will looked over at Darren, who was rubbing his red cheek and grinding his teeth. This is going to be tricky, he thought.

  ‘All right, gang. Remember, this is high stakes,’ Jack said in a half-serious tone. ‘Not only will the losers have to wash up tonight, but the winners will get to rub it in their faces for the last twenty-four hours of camp!’

  All the coaches had come down to play in the game, although they were only allowed to field. Dan joined the girls’ team to even up the numbers, and Jack was the umpire.

  The girls won the toss and strangely decided to send the boys in to bat.

  ‘I’d prefer to smash the winning runs myself,’ said Zoe, and the boys guffawed.

  Will and Shavil opened the batting once again, and this time it was a little easier than facing Darren. The ball was just a low-impact rubber ball, which meant the pace was slow and it didn’t travel far when it hit the sand. Once the boys got used to it, they began advancing down the sandy pitch and smashing the ball far and wide.

  Will especially had fun with Zoe fielding out in the deep. He kept whacking it just over her head and into the waves so she’d have to wade in to get it. Then he hit it straight to her for a catch, but a wave knocked her off balance and she came up soaking wet and without the ball.

  ‘Oops!’ Will grinned. ‘Did you bring a towel?’

  Zoe glared at him but said nothing. Instead, she put herself in to bowl. Will had more fun hitting her around the beach.

  Time to try a few T20 shots. He sized up the next delivery and loosened his grip for a reverse sweep. But Zoe had changed up her pace and he mistimed it, chopping it back onto the plastic yellow stumps.

  ‘Ha!’ screamed Zoe.

  ‘We’ll still win,’ said Will as he handed the bat to the next boy.

  But the wickets began to tumble. The next kid, a skinny boy called Brian, fell cheaply, edging it behind. Then Shavil went for a massive slog back over the bowler’s head and was caught by a diving Dan. The boys put on some more runs but not with the same ferocity as the first five overs when Will and Shavil had cut loose. The girls had picked up their game in the field and took some nice catches as well as two quick run-outs.

  By the end of the 20 overs, the boys had made a respectable 89, with Darren adding a quick-fire 18 at the death.

  ‘No chance the girls will get that,’ said Freckles.

  But there was something about Zoe’s face that Will didn’t like. She looked totally calm, as if she knew something they didn’t.

  It soon became obvious what that something was when Kat, one of the girls’ openers, smashed Darren’s first ball back over his head and into the faint blue horizon. The ball kept going and going. It was a monster hit, bigger than any the boys had hit.

  The boys’ jaws dropped.

  But after both openers did it repeatedly, ball after ball for the first four overs, Will finally figured it out. It was Darren. They were using his pace against him.

  KILLER INSTINCT

  ‘I still don’t get it. How did a bunch of girls beat us?’ asked Darren. He stuck his hands back into the grey water and fished out a greasy dish.

  Will shrugged. ‘Just wasn’t our day,’ he said, grabbing a plate to dry. He didn’t want to be responsible for telling Darren why the girls had won.

  With the low-impact ball, the terrorising speed was missing from Darren’s deliveries but they were still fast enough to fly off the bat. All the girls had to do was get their timing and shot selection right, which, Will had to admit, they did very well.

  The harder the boys tried to take the wickets, the more difficult it became. They began dropping catches. Even Glenn dropped a catch, although Will suspected he might not have been trying his hardest to hang on to it. The boys missed some easy run-outs as well. Twice, they had the batter short of the crease, but both times the fielder rushed the throw and missed the wicket completely. Then frustration crept in. The bowlers began over-pitching it, and the faster the boys bowled at the girls, hoping to knock down middle stump, the further the girls hit the ball.

  The only ones who’d had any luck were the spinners. Freckles had taken two wickets, while Will managed to force a stumping from a nice topspinner. But even that couldn’t stem the tide of runs.

  Still, it was a close game – the girls needed nine off the last over to win. As predicted, Zoe was there to claim the winning runs with a couple of big hits off Darren’s bowling.

  The only upside to the loss was that Darren seemed a little less annoyed by Will’s existence, especially when Will stepped in to give Darren some much-needed advice about throwing in a few slow deliveries, one of which led to a great caught-and-bowled for Darren. No one had appointed Will as captain but, somehow, he still ended up making the decisions. And the players listened to him – even Darren.

  The second-last over was the most humiliating. Zoe produced a lovely slog sweep, not reverse but still impressive, and the breeze drove the ball straight to Will. He ran and gave his best Superman dive, bellyflopping into the surf. PLONK! The ball landed in the water, just out of his grasp.

  ‘Who needs a towel now?’ Zoe said smugly.

  ‘You’ve got to admit she’s pretty good,’ Glenn said, helping Will to his feet. ‘She hasn’t played a bad shot yet.’

  ‘You’d really think in a modern camp site like this there would be a dishwasher,’ complained Will.

  The boys had been doing the dishes for half an hour and they still had a mountain of pots and containers to get through.

  ‘I reckon,’ said Darren. ‘My hands are going to be so wrinkly after this I won’t be able to pick up the ball tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s probably a good thing for my head,’ joked Will.

  Darren laughed. ‘Yeah, probably.’

  ‘So, um, why are you always trying to take my head off?’ Will asked tentatively.

  Darren stopped washing up for a moment to contemplate Will’s question.

  ‘I dunno. Something just makes me want to run and bowl as fast and as hard as I possibly can. It’s just … instinct,’ said Darren, sounding almost philosophical. ‘Also, you’re the best bat out there, and I want to take your wicket. Sometimes that means doing whatever it takes.’

  ‘Like taking my head off,’ said Will.

  Darren shrugged. ‘If you think about it, it’s kind of a compliment.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Will. ‘I think I know what you mean.’ He was starting to think he had Darren all wrong. Maybe Darren is like me, he thought. Just trying to do his best to make it into the academy.

  ‘Don’t think this means I’m going to go easy on you tomorrow in the trial game,’ said Darren. ‘I’m still going to take your head off.’

  Okay, maybe not. Will picked up another plate from the pile. Just another bazillion to go.

  LUCKY BREAK

  When Darren and Will finally emerged from the kitchen and into the dark of the campground, they were confronted by an unexpected sound.

  THUNK!

  It was the sound of ball on bin.

  ‘How iz heeee?’ yelled a voice from the shadows. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere between the boys’ cabins.

  Will and Darren looked at each other in surprise, then rushed towards the noise. They arrived to find a raucous game of moonlight cricket in progress.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Will.

  ‘Night cricket,’ said Freckles. ‘Except without the lights.’

  Will looked around and noticed that the only light was coming from two torches tied to the makeshift wheelie-bin wicket. ‘Isn’t that a bit dangerous?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course,’ answered Freckles. ‘Wanna play?
’

  ‘You bet!’ said Darren. ‘Come on, Will. Don’t be a nerd your whole life.’

  Will hesitated. ‘But won’t we get in trouble?’

  Freckles laughed. ‘Nah, Jack and the other coaches are having a meeting about tomorrow’s trial games. They’ll be ages.’

  Will spotted Shavil standing at mid-on, and waved.

  ‘Hey, Will!’ called Shavil, his smile shining in the moonlight. Will moved into the outfield, just between a small wattle bush and one of the cabins, and was soon absorbed in the game.

  Will couldn’t see what was going on. He could barely make out the ball or even who was at the crease. All he could do was listen for the crack of the bat and hope that he saw the ball before it came rushing through the air towards him. It was great fun.

  Whoosh! The ball would fly past him and he’d run after it, going by sound alone as it whipped along the grassy, leaf-strewn ground. Sometimes no one would be able to find the ball and they’d have to stop the game, grab a torch and form a search party. After one mighty slog by Shavil, Freckles had to climb under the verandah to retrieve the ball and came out covered in cobwebs.

  Finally, Shavil smashed one straight to Will, who just managed to spot the sheen of the ball spiralling towards him at a million miles an hour. He threw his hands up in front of his face at the last millisecond. Amazingly, he held on to it.

  ‘Top catch!’ said Killer. It sounded odd coming out of his mouth.

  ‘Come have a bat, Will!’ urged Shavil.

  ‘Oh, all right,’ Will said, feeling a little more relaxed. ‘Can’t hurt.’

  ‘Does that hurt?’

  Will looked down at his swollen toe as the doctor pressed down on the tip. Will winced and nodded.

  The doctor felt further up the toe. ‘And here?’

  Will winced again and shut his eyes. He nodded slowly.

  ‘Do you think you can wiggle it?’

  Will shook his head.

  ‘Well, I’d say it’s most likely broken. It’s too late to get an X-ray, so I can’t say for sure.’ The doctor shrugged. ‘How did it happen?’

  ‘Playing night cricket,’ Will said sheepishly.

  ‘Right. Well, I’ll put a splint on it and you can come back for a scan tomorrow if you like,’ said the doctor. He couldn’t have been all that experienced, judging by the crop of pimples on his forehead.

  Will slowly limped to the waiting room, where Jack was waiting for him.

  ‘Broken?’ asked Jack.

  Will nodded.

  ‘Thought so,’ Jack said dryly. ‘They don’t usually blow up like that unless there’s a break. Still, glad we waited two hours in a doctor’s surgery to find out.’

  Will nodded again mournfully. All he could think about was the T20 trial tomorrow. There was no way he could play now. What had he done?

  ‘Cheer up, it’s a lucky break,’ said Jack.

  ‘Sorry?’ asked Will, confused. How in any way is this lucky? I’ve blown my chance to make it into the academy.

  ‘Well, you were batting in the dark against a leather ball, wearing thongs and no padding. You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck!’

  Will couldn’t tell if Jack was joking or angry. He decided, after a long, quiet ride back to the camp site, that it was probably both.

  When they got back, it was well after midnight and the camp site was dead quiet. Jack helped Will back to his cabin and up the wooden steps.

  ‘Sorry again, Jack,’ said Will.

  ‘That’s two sorrys in one day. Too bad I don’t get paid by the sorry.’ Jack laughed. ‘Anyway, I think that broken toe is punishment enough.’

  Will slowly opened the cabin door and limped inside.

  ‘Wha–? Who’s that?’ asked a groggy Darren.

  ‘Just me,’ whispered Will.

  ‘Is it broken?’ whispered Darren.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Oh. That sucks.’ Darren turned on his torch and threw it across to Will’s bed. ‘Need my torch?’

  ‘Thanks.’ Will shone the torch up at the top bunk. Shavil was fast asleep, a wide grin spread across his face.

  Will carefully climbed into his sleeping bag, leaving out his leg with the broken toe. He was about to throw the torch back to Darren when he noticed something brown and fuzzy peeking out of Darren’s sleeping bag. ‘Is that a… teddy bear?’ he asked.

  Darren shifted in his bed. ‘What?’

  ‘Did you bring a teddy bear to cricket camp?’

  In an instant Darren leapt out of bed and grabbed Will by his T-shirt. ‘You tell anyone here and I really will kill you!’ he threatened in a low, hard whisper while pushing his large fist into Will’s chin.

  ‘No, I wouldn’t do that,’ said Will. He passed Darren his torch.

  Darren took it, then nodded and slowly climbed back into his bed. ‘Thanks,’ he said, then switched off the torch. ‘Do you think you’ll be playing tomorrow?’

  ‘Probably not,’ said Will.

  ‘Oh. Goodnight, then.’

  ‘Night,’ said Will.

  He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. But nothing happened. His toe was still throbbing and his head was buzzing with too many bad thoughts, like whether he’d completely blown his chance at making it into the academy.

  That thought swam endlessly through his mind like a goldfish circling a fishbowl, and every time it got back around it started swimming through his mind again.

  It was forever before Will finally fell asleep.

  JUDGEMENT DAY

  The next morning, Will hobbled into the dining hall with Shavil’s help.

  ‘Think you can get your cricket shoes on?’ asked Jack, inspecting Will’s toe.

  Will shrugged. ‘I can try.’

  Jack nodded.

  As Will sat and ate his Weet-Bix he could feel Shavil staring at him. ‘What?’

  Shavil smiled gently. ‘You look terrible. Can I get you a cup of tea?’

  Will laughed. ‘You sound like my mum.’

  ‘Do you think you’ll be able to play in the trial game?’

  ‘Probably not. I can barely walk.’ Will sighed and dropped his spoon back into his bowl. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry.

  ‘Hi, boys. Did we all sleep well?’ said a bright, cheery voice that Will had been hoping to avoid.

  ‘Hi, Zoe,’ said Shavil.

  ‘Hey,’ Will said gloomily.

  ‘What’s wrong with him?’ Zoe asked, pointing her head in Will’s direction.

  ‘He broke his toe playing cricket in the dark last night, and now he probably won’t be able to play today,’ whispered Shavil.

  ‘Oh, is that why he looks like he’s about to cry?’ Zoe whispered back.

  Shavil nodded. ‘I think he’s worried he won’t make it into the academy now.’

  ‘I don’t think he had much of a chance, anyway,’ said Zoe.

  ‘I’m right here, you know,’ said Will.

  Zoe giggled. ‘Just jokes. Don’t give up. It could be worse,’ she said, grinning.

  Will decided to take the bait. ‘How?’

  ‘Some mountain climbers who climb Mount Everest get frostbite so bad they have to cut their toes off so they can keep walking.’

  ‘You think I should cut off my toe?’ asked Will.

  ‘Maybe. You know what they say, where there’s a will –’

  ‘There’s a way, I know.’

  ‘I was going to say there’s a wittle baby with a sore toe. Suck it up, princess. How many days do you get to try out for a state cricket academy in front of Glenn Maxwell?’

  Will looked at Zoe. She was smiling intensely. He managed to smile back.

  ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s go practise in the nets before the game and see what you can do. It’s just a broken toe, not the end of the world.’

  But when Will, Zoe and Shavil stepped outside, the sky was dark and low black clouds were moving in from the south.

  ‘What was that about the end of the world?’ asked Will.r />
  A loud crack of thunder made the three of them jump.

  ‘Hmm,’ said Zoe. ‘That doesn’t sound good.’

  RAIN DELAY

  Zoe was right – it wasn’t good. Ten minutes later, the sky opened up and it bucketed rain. A group of players, including Will, Shavil and Zoe, stood on the verandah of the dining hall and watched the rain come down. The camp site was quickly becoming a pond. Will thought he even saw a frog jump out of a puddle.

  ‘This sucks!’ said Shavil.

  ‘What?’ asked Will. He couldn’t hear a thing over the rain rattling on the tin roof. It sounded like machinegun fire.

  ‘I said this sucks! How are we going to play now?’ yelled Shavil.

  ‘I’ve had a look on the weather forecast and the storm won’t last long,’ announced Jack. ‘We should still be able to play this afternoon.’

  Maybe a rain delay isn’t so bad, thought Will. It’ll give my toe more time to recover.

  ‘In the meantime, we’ll push the tables to the side and set up some fielding drills in the dining hall,’ added Jack.

  Shavil and some of the other boys headed inside to help Jack move the chairs and tables, but Will stayed on the verandah. He leant over the railing and watched the storm.

  ‘Bit of a bummer,’ said a familiar voice.

  Will turned around to find Glenn Maxwell standing behind him. Even though he was absolutely miserable and in pain, there was a part of him that was still amazed that Glenn was standing here talking to him. Just stay cool. Pretend you’re talking to Shavil, not your favourite Victorian batsman of all time. ‘Hi, Glenn.’

  ‘Guess we just wait for it to pass,’ mused Glenn. Then he spotted the splint on Will’s toe. ‘Hurt your foot, mate?’

  ‘Broke my toe,’ Will said miserably.

  ‘How’d you manage that?’

  ‘Playing cricket in the dark with thongs on. Copped the ball right on the toe.’

  Glenn winced. ‘Ouch! Bad luck. And probably not the smartest move.’

  ‘Yeah, I know, but I think my luck had already run out,’ said Will, staring hard at a puddle on the gravel path.