Against the Spin
Page 6
‘In the boys’ section now, in third place, Travis Fisk.’
For a moment I was shocked. Then relief swept over me. Fisk would have blitzed the competition if he hadn’t been so stupid as to copy Bryce’s wrong answers. It would be amazing to see his final score. You could probably have added another fifteen points at least. Fisk was shaking his head, a mean expression on his face, as he walked out the front. Third place was obviously not giving him any pleasure or satisfaction.
‘That rules me out,’ whispered Jack.
‘No way,’ I said.
‘C’mon, what about Danny and Chaz and Jamie and– ’
‘Jack Crossly.’
Jack turned to me with his eyes wide.
‘Well, off you go,’ I said to him.
Jack walked out to huge cheers and shook Mr Bronsen’s hand and Mrs Waite’s hand too. Now I didn’t know where to look. The two favourites for Legend of Cricket had come and gone. Third and second. Fisk would be annoyed. Jack, sitting back next to me again, couldn’t keep the grin off his face.
I sensed everyone looking at me. Mr Bronsen was talking, but I wasn’t really listening. I was in a daze. I just needed to hear a name. Any name, as long as we could get it over and done with. Then, finally, it was over.
‘Congratulations to this year’s Legend of Cricket, Mitchell Grady!’
The foot stamping started up again, loud as ever. And there was plenty of shouting and clapping, too. I made my way out to Mr Bronsen and Mrs Waite. Mr Bronsen smiled as he shook my hand.
‘You thoroughly deserve this, Mitchell. Well done.’
I thanked him and shook hands with Mrs Waite. The clapping continued as I made my way back to my seat. I sat down and looked at the trophy in my hand. It felt good. No, it felt fantastic. To be the Legend of Cricket was an amazing honour.
Jack nudged me, and held out a hand. I passed him the trophy. Kids from behind us and next to us were straining to get a look at it, too. I didn’t mind. I was going to get plenty of time to stare at it.
It moved down the row, and even behind, as Mrs Waite spoke about the next Legend competition, Tennis.
Eventually I got the trophy back. It was a really heavy, wooden plaque with a cool colour-engraving of a cricket ball on a little silver shield in the middle.
Kids hovered round me as we walked out of assembly. Luci and Beck came up and shook my hand.
‘Well done, you two,’ I said to them. ‘That’s a fantastic result. First and second!’ We left the hall, walking slowly.
‘So,’ Luci asked, ‘I suppose you’re a bit of a gun tennis player too, hey Mitch?’
‘You wanna play a set?’ I asked her.
‘Hmm. Not if last year’s disaster is repeated,’ she said.
‘Disaster?’ I asked, looking from Luci to Beck.
But I didn’t get to hear an answer. Travis Fisk had strolled over.
‘I’ll tell you later,’ Luci whispered to me, and then turned away.
I expected Fisk would have something to say to me.
‘Seen your loser friend Flavel lately?’ he asked.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t noticed him at assembly.
‘He’s around,’ I said, a bit unsure, and starting to worry. I didn’t like Fisk’s smirk.
‘What have you done, Travis?’ Luci asked, getting angry.
‘Me?’ he asked innocently. He swaggered off.
‘Luci,’ I called. ‘We need to find Bryce. Get Jack and Bubba. Becky, can you help, too?’
We raced off in different directions, fearing the worst.
There were going to be more than just sporting battles going on at this school, I thought to myself as I sped across the oval towards the pine trees near the school fence.
THE SANDHURST LEGEND OF CRICKET – RESULTS
The Scorecard
Travis Fisk’s Team
David Styles
1-4-2-1
8
Jimmy Paisley
4-x-4-1-1-1-x
11
(Extras)
2
Alex Rutovski
x-2-2-1
5
Jamie Stokes
2-2-1-4-4-1
14
(Extras)
3
Travis Fisk (c)
6-1-4-6-2-4-4-4-6-4-4-1-4-4-2-2-1-2-4-4
69
Walt Belugo
RO-1-1-1-4-4-2-1-1
15
(Extras)
7
Richard Mazis
4-4-2-2-1-4-2-6-1
26
Jordie Franklin
1-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-4
15
(Extras)
8
TOTAL
183
Less 4 wickets
-40
FINAL TOTAL
143
Mitchell Grady’s Team
Miles Westman
1-x-1-x-1-2-2-4
11
Danny Paulo
x-2-2-1-4-4-2-6-1-4
26
(Extras)
1
Nick Krsul
1-x-4-2-2
9
Shane Corelli
1-1-1-4-1
8
(Extras)
2
Jack Crossly
4-4-2-2-1-4-1-4-1
23
Jules Monotti
1-1-2-4-1-3
12
(Extras)
5
Mitchell Grady
4-4-1-1-4-2-2-6-4-4-6-1-1-x-4-2-6-1-4-1
58
Chaz Green
(Bubba - sub)
4-4-4-6-1-4-1-4-1-1-1-2-6
39
(Extras)
1
TOTAL
195
Less 5 wickets
-50
FINAL TOTAL
145
x – means a wicket
RO – means a run out
10 runs lost for each wicket
Each batting pair faces 8 overs
Each player bowls 4 overs
Extras – consist of wides, no-balls, byes and leg byes
THE SANDHURST LEGEND OF CRICKET – RESULTS
BOYS
1st
Mitchell Grady
5 points
2nd
Jack Crossly
4 points
3rd
Travis Fisk
3 points
4th
Chaz Green
1.5 points
5th
Jamie Stokes
1.5 point
THE SANDHURST LEGEND OF CRICKET – RESULTS
GIRLS
1st
Rebecca Tan
5 points
2nd
Luci Rankin
4 points
3rd
Mia Tompkins
3 points
4th
Cara Thornton
2 points
5th
Talia Petroni
1 point
CRICKET QUIZ
1. Which of the following grounds has not been used as a Test Match venue?
A. The Sydney Cricket Ground
B. Lords
C. Docklands Stadium
D. Edgbaston
2. Who has the highest Test batting average of the following players?
A. Sir Richard Hadlee
B. Sachin Tendulkar
C. Glen McGrath
D. Shane Warne
3. What do the letters LBW stand for?
A. Left behind wicket
B. Leg behind wicket
C. Leg before wicket
D. Left batting wicket
4. Who won – or what was the result of – the first Test match between Australia and England?
A. Australia
B. England
C. It was a draw
D. It didn’t finish
5. Which fielder is closest to the wicket keeper?
A. Second slip
> B. Backward square leg
C. Mid-off
D. Cover
6. A player doesn’t have to run for his first three scoring shots. Which score is not possible for this player to be on?
A. 12
B. 18
C. 16
D. 10
7. A fielder takes a catch with one foot inside the playing area and the other over the rope. The ruling is:
A. Six and the batter is out
B. Six and the batter is not out
C. No runs and the batter is not out
D. No runs and the batter is out
8. What is the crease at the bowler’s end, closest to the umpire, called?
A. Popping crease
B. Return crease
C. Bowling crease
D. Batting crease
9. What is Don Bradman’s Test batting average?
A. 96.94
B. 99.96
C. 99.94
D. 96.99
10. What is the score of a player, who, on eighteen, hits the ball into the deep, runs three runs, but is run out taking a fourth run?
A. 18
B. 21
C. 22
D. 20
11. Who has recorded the highest score in Test history, to date?
A. Sir Donald Bradman
B. Sachin Tendulkar
C. Brian Lara
D. Matthew Hayden
12. Who won the 2016 T20 World Cup?
A. Australia
B. New Zealand
C. Pakistan
D. West Indies
13. The two Melbourne BBL and WBBL teams are known as the:
A. Stars and Sixers
B. Stars and Renegades
C. Thunder and Renegades
D. Stars and Thunder
14. Which fielder would most likely not be chasing a cover drive?
A. Square leg
B. Cover
C. Gully
D. Point
15. Which statement best describes the Ashes?
A. A trophy that is held by whoever wins the World Cup
B. The remains of a stump, burnt after every Eng – Aus Test series
C. A small, symbolic trophy played for during Eng – Aus Test series
D. A small, bronze plaque played for during Eng – Aus Test series
16. Who were the Invincibles?
A. The touring Australians in 1920/1921
B. The touring Australians in 1948
C. Ian Chappell’s team of the 1970s
D. The first Australian T20 team
17. What is the winning margin for a team that scored 236 and 7/118 against a team that scored 197 and 155?
A. Three wickets
B. Three runs
C. Two runs
D. Seven wickets
18. What attacking shot is played on one knee and into the leg side?
A. The hook
B. The on drive
C. The sweep
D. The cut
19. What reason best suggests the origin of overarm bowling?
A. Men got sore backs bowling underarm
B. Men were too old to throw the ball quickly
C. Women could not bowl underarm because of their wide dresses
D. It was introduced to prevent throwing
20. Jamie is facing. Jana is at the bowler’s end and Trevor (the number nine batter) is next to bat. Jamie hits the last ball of an over into the covers but is run out at the bowler’s end. The batters crossed. Who is facing the next delivery?
A. Jamie
B. Jana
C. Trevor
D. Bob
CRICKET QUIZ ANSWERS
1. C
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. C
10. B
11. C
12. D
13. B
14. A
15. C
16. B
17. A
18. C
19. C
20. C