About the Book
Will Albright has conquered Australia, but can he conquer the world? Will and his Australian teammates are travelling to England, the home of cricket, to take on the best of the best in the T20 Youth World Cup. With mounting interstate rivalry tearing the Aussie team apart, Will and his fellow players are going to need to dig deep to keep the nation’s hopes alive.
Can some well-timed advice from Glenn Maxwell show Will how to lead the Aussie team to victory?
Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Captain’s Call
Friendly Fire
The Home of Cricket
Match Day
True Team Spirit
Rest Day
A Grey Day
Shake It Off
The Must-Win
Will to the Rescue
Against the Wind
On Fire
Victory Ride
No Time for Love
Jaws of Defeat
World Class
About Glenn Maxwell
Cricket Tips
Glossary
Also in the series
Copyright Notice
Loved the book?
CAPTAIN’S CALL
‘Sorry, what was that?’ asked Will Albright, trying to focus on the voice on the other end of his dad’s mobile while his entire family screamed at the TV.
It was a cold Sunday in June and his extended family had invaded the Albright household to support the St Kilda Saints in their game against the Sydney Swans. Will’s whole family – his nanna, his dad, his uncles and aunts and all his cousins – were mad St Kilda fans, which made screaming at the TV a popular pastime in the Albright family.
‘We want you to captain the squad for the T20 Youth World Cup, Will,’ repeated Jack Jarrett, the T20 Youth Academy selector and head coach.
Will almost dropped the phone in shock.
‘Hello? Will? Are you there?’
Will finally managed to make his mouth speak.
‘Jack, did you just say captain? You want me to be the captain for the World Cup?’
‘Yes, you,’ said Jack. ‘You deserve it, Will. You led Victoria to a great win in the National Youth Shield last summer and you impressed a lot of selectors that day, let me tell you.’ Will could almost see Jack grinning through the phone. ‘Not only that, but you captained your club to another title this year and you dominated at the Country versus City match last month,’ added Jack. ‘You’re ready, Will.’
Will had captained his local team, the Green Park Rangers, to a win, and he had played well in the Country versus City game he’d been part of at the T20 Youth Academy … But all the same, his initial burst of excitement suddenly morphed into sticky globs of fear and guilt.
‘But what about Mike. Won’t he be upset?’ Mike Reynolds was the captain for their state team.
‘Mike isn’t going to represent Australia, Will. He didn’t make the squad,’ said Jack.
‘Oh.’ Mike didn’t make the squad? ‘Well, what about the other state captains?’ asked Will, searching for an alternative.
‘The selectors only considered one other guy, but he doesn’t have your instincts. The captaincy’s yours if you want it, Will.’
Will thought for a moment. This was big. He had been nervous enough just making the Australian squad … If he said yes to the captaincy, he would be under even more pressure. But being captain would be such an honour. If Jack thought he could do it …
‘Okay, I’ll do it.’
‘Fantastic! I’ll let the coach know.’
‘Who is our coach, anyway?’ asked Will.
‘Me, of course,’ said Jack. He chuckled. ‘See you in a few weeks.’
Will ended the call and turned to his family who were still screaming and cursing at the TV screen. Will’s dad stopped for a moment and looked curiously at Will. ‘So what’s up?’
‘Jack wants me to be captain,’ said Will.
‘Captain? Did you say captain?’ asked Mr Albright, his eyes lighting up like stadium floodlights.
Will nodded.
‘Did you hear that, everyone? My son’s going to captain Australia in the World Cup in England!’ shouted Mr Albright triumphantly. Will’s whole family stopped screaming at the TV, turned towards Will and began screaming at him instead – except now they were screams of jubilation, as they clambered towards him, giving him hugs and ruffling his hair.
‘It’s just the Youth World Cup; it’s not the real one,’ mumbled Will, embarrassed.
‘Speaking of which … Did you know that the Aussie team will be touring at the same time?’ added his uncle. ‘Do you think you’ll see your mate Glenn Maxwell over there?’
Will shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
‘You know what this means, son?’ said Will’s dad.
‘What?’ asked Will.
‘You’re gonna have to make sure you pull those NSW boys into line. I’ll bet they’re still dirty at Victoria for snatching the T20 National Youth Shield from them last year!’ joked his dad.
Will laughed uncomfortably. Surely they’d be over that by now, he told himself. But a moment later he was too busy scoffing down the extra helping of apple pie his Mum had forced on him to give it another thought.
FRIENDLY FIRE
‘Howzat!’ screamed Darren ‘Killer’ McKinnon at the umpire after one of his trademark scorching fast deliveries struck the New Zealand batsman’s knee roll.
The umpire nodded and raised his finger and the junior Australian T20 squad celebrated their first wicket as a team.
The small crowd at North Sydney Oval applauded the Aussie team. It was one of the country’s oldest and most respected club grounds. Although it wasn’t quite the same as playing at the MCG, where Will and the Victorian team had won the T20 National Youth Shield, it was still exciting.
The friendly match against the New Zealand team had been organised as a warm-up to the T20 Youth World Cup in England. Will and the other Victorian T20 Academy players had arrived in Sydney the night before and both the Australian and New Zealand squads were due to fly to London the next day. Will couldn’t wait.
But before he got too far ahead of himself, Will decided it was best to focus on the task at hand: bowling out the rest of the New Zealand team.
Will looked across to the oval’s traditional old scoreboard, named after someone called Ken Irvine. Australia had done well with the bat, posting 160. But Jack had warned the boys that now that they were playing at an international level, they couldn’t take anything for granted. Still, while Will refused to let his team feel complacent, he soon discovered that the real problem wasn’t so much their New Zealander opponents, it was his own team: Will had lost count of the number of death stares he kept getting from some of his own teammates.
Of the 15-boy team, Will, his best friend Shavil, Darren and another country fast bowler Joey Romeo, were the only Victorians to make it into the starting 11. The rest of the 11 was made up of players from across the other states: two from Queensland; one from Tasmania; Brock Anderson, who had once played for Victoria but now played for WA, and three from NSW. Will recognised some of them from the T20 Youth Shield games. In particular, he remembered the NSW captain Toby Gregg, from the final of the T20 Youth Shield. Will was sure Toby wouldn’t have forgotten him, either, and from the looks of his dirty glances and low mutterings from slips, Will could tell that he was right.
There was probably a second reason for the dirty looks, too. Jack said that they’d considered one other squad member for the captaincy and Will was fairly certain that it had been Toby. Not only was he captain of the NSW team, he was a very talented batsman. So Will getting captain probably hadn’t made him
Toby’s favourite person in the world.
When Will stepped up to bowl in the ninth over, the frosty attitude from the NSW players became more obvious. He delivered his first ball, a nice, tidy off-break that missed the stumps by a whisker. The NSW wicketkeeper, Hayden Baxter, tossed it to Toby at first slip and Toby threw it hard and low at Will. He stuck out his hand to catch it but realised too late that it had been thrown so hard that catching it was going to hurt. The ball hit his hand and then the pitch. Will tried to shake the sting from his hand while he glared at Toby, who turned away, smirking at Hayden.
Three balls later, Will deceived the New Zealander batsman with a straighter delivery that bounced once and burst through the stumps. The rest of the team rushed over to congratulate him but the NSW players stayed where they were.
To his credit, Toby’s feelings towards Will didn’t affect his performance in the field. He took a great one-handed catch when the ball was only inches off the ground, and he forced a stumping with a lightning-quick stop and return throw. Will did his best to put his own feelings aside both times and congratulated Toby, but he could feel the tension between them in Toby’s half-hearted response to Will’s high fives.
Will’s Australian junior boys’ team went on to win the game by two wickets, and though the New Zealanders got revenge when they beat the Aussie senior boys’ team, both the Aussies girls’ teams won their friend-lies, which were held at the Allan Border Oval in Mosman.
It looks like Australia is in fine form, thought Will, pleased.
The cross-Tasman rivalry was put on hold for the afternoon as all the squads joined together for a barbecue at Luna Park. The Will-and-Toby rivalry continued unabated, though.
‘What’s with this guy?’ muttered Will under his breath, as Toby cut right in front of him in the line for the Wild Mouse roller coaster.
Shavil, who was standing next to Will, waved towards Toby. ‘Don’t worry about him, he’s just jealous you’re captain.’
Well, he’d better get used to it, thought Will. I’m not going anywhere.
When Will and the team arrived at Sydney Airport the next afternoon for their flight to London, he found it hard to contain his excitement. He’d been going stir-crazy all day, just itching to get on the plane and be on his way. As he wheeled his suitcase and cricket kitbag towards departures with the rest of the team, he couldn’t help but feel a bit like a famous cricketer, jet-setting his way around the globe for the next big world tour.
Will wasn’t the only one who was excited.
‘Wow, it feels like we’re the Australian team leaving for the real World Cup!’ gushed Shavil. ‘Don’t you think it feels like we’re the Australian team? You know, like when you see them on the news leaving for a tour? Except we’re a bit shorter, of course.’
‘I guess,’ said Will, trying to downplay his own excitement. ‘Hadn’t really noticed.’
One thing Will did notice as they sat in the departure lounge was how the team wasn’t really acting like one. All the players were clumped in little state factions scattered all across the lounge area. Except for Brock and the boy from Tasmania who were busy chatting, no one else was really mixing.
I wonder if the real Australian team has this problem, pondered Will. How are we going to play as a team if we can’t even sit together?
After what seemed like an eternity in the departure lounge, their flight to London was finally called. Will felt a flutter in his stomach as he boarded the plane; he’d never been on an international flight before. He followed Shavil to their seats in the middle of the plane and found Darren already seated, looking rather pale.
‘You okay, Killer?’ asked Will.
Darren nodded. Clearly he was not very fond of flying.
Will stowed his backpack in the overhead compartment and took the window seat. He and Shavil eagerly checked out the in-flight entertainment.
‘Cool! The new Spiderman movie!’ shouted Shavil.
‘Haven’t you already seen it three times?’ asked Will.
‘Yeah, but not on a plane,’ said Shavil as he slipped on his headphones.
Will looked around the cabin and noticed someone with familiar brown curls sitting a few rows ahead of him. It was Zoe Jarrett, Jack’s niece. She was chatting excitedly with one of her teammates. Will had been thinking about Zoe a lot lately. Especially after she kissed him on the cheek when his team had won the National Youth Shield. He hadn’t seen her much since then, but they would be thrown together a lot more in the next week … Maybe he would get to spend a bit more time with her …
The plane’s engines rumbled to life and Will gripped the hand rest as the jumbo roared down the runway before finally lifting into the air.
He looked over at Darren who had his eyes closed and was clenching the seat tightly with both hands. Will smiled and looked out the window as they climbed higher and higher into the sky and the buildings and beaches of Sydney disappeared.
They were on their way.
THE HOME OF CRICKET
They arrived at Heathrow Airport at 6.45 am London time to the sight of dull grey clouds and rain. They made their way through customs before finally exiting the airport into the brisk London air.
‘Welcome to London, kids! It’s a bit like Melbourne, really: old, cold and grey,’ said Jack. Everyone laughed, especially the three NSW players.
Will narrowed his eyes at them.
As it turned out, the rain was just a passing shower and by the time the teams climbed aboard the coach, the clouds were clearing and the pale sun was poking through the grey.
‘All right, next stop, county Kent,’ said Jack.
‘What? We don’t even get to see London?’ called Cooper McKay, an all-rounder from Queensland.
‘Don’t get your knickers in a twist – we’ll be coming back tomorrow,’ reassured Jack. ‘First we need to get you boys settled into your dorm rooms, and then we’re going to start training.’
‘Already? But we only just got here!’ exclaimed Joey Romeo.
‘The best cure for jet lag is getting out in the sunshine,’ responded Jack. ‘Besides, Joey, you need to work off all those Pringles you put away on the plane – I saw you!’
There was an explosion of laughter in the bus as it sped away towards the Dunsbridge Boarding School in Kent. When they finally arrived after an hour on the road, the boys from both the junior and senior teams were amazed by the size of the school grounds.
‘This is really a school?’ asked Brock. ‘It looks more like a castle!’
Brock wasn’t far off. The grand old sandstone buildings of the school towered over the flat green lawns and manicured gardens of the surrounding grounds.
‘Well, it’s a boarding school,’ explained Graham Parker, one of the national selectors and Youth World Cup tour manager, ‘but all the boarders are on summer break so there’s plenty of room for us and the senior team.’
‘Um, what about the girls? Where will they be staying?’ asked Will, trying his best to sound low-key about it.
‘In a girls’ college in Bromley. Why?’ asked Graham with a wry grin climbing up the side of his mouth.
‘Just wondering,’ said Will.
The teams made their way towards their dorm rooms, marvelling as they passed the school’s massive rugby field, cricket pitch and athletics track.
There were six beds in each dorm room so Will, Shavil, Darren, Joey and the two Queenslanders, Cooper McKay and Dylan Martinez, decided to share. They didn’t have much time to settle in, though. After a quick sandwich and some fruit in the dining hall, they were soon out on the school oval training hard.
Will had been looking forward to this. Besides one quick training session before the friendly against New Zealand, his team hadn’t had much time to play together. This was Will’s first real chance to get to know his team and by the end of a two-hour session, Will felt a bit more comfortable with his Australian teammates. While the NSW players still seemed stand-offish, when he was bowling Will had a chanc
e to chat tactics with the wickie, Hayden, and clue him in on his deliveries. Hayden had seemed receptive enough, and made Will think that maybe all his team needed was time and practice for them to work better together.
After training, the boys had a bit of free time to explore the grounds. Jack was right – getting out in the sunshine was a good way to beat the jet lag from the long flight. And the great thing about being in England in the summer was that it didn’t get dark until 9 pm, so after dinner the boys had time for a game of soccer.
When Will’s head hit the pillow that night he fell straight asleep and didn’t wake up once till the morning.
The next day the teams climbed back aboard the coach and soon they were roaring along the motorway. Although Jack and Graham told them they were heading to London, they refused to tell the boys exactly where in London they were going. All Jack and Graham would tell them was that it was a very special surprise – a surprise that Shavil ruined when he proudly announced that he knew where they were going, five minutes before they arrived.
‘Got it! It’s Lord’s!’ he shouted proudly.
‘How do you know?’ asked Will.
Shavil waved his phone in Will’s face and tapped madly at the screen.
‘I’m tracking us on Google Earth. Lord’s is straight ahead, look!’
‘That doesn’t prove anything; we could be going anywhere. We could be going to Regent’s Park or Abbey Road Studios where The Beatles recorded their albums!’ said Will.
‘The who?’ said Shavil.
But when the bus pulled up outside the ground and they all saw a large sign that read Welcome to Lord’s: The Home of Cricket, Will begrudgingly admitted Shavil was right.
Glenn Maxwell 4 Page 1
