by David Warner
He slashed the ball off the full face of Kaboom. The square cut rocketed to the boundary, neatly splitting the two fieldsmen on the fence at third man and backward cover.
Two balls to go.
Four runs to win.
Everyone was feeling the tension.
Josh was biting his fingernails. Sunil was clenching his fists together. Max barked like a crazy thing.
The cheer squad was going crazy.
I don’t know but I’ve been told,
Warner’s bat is made of gold . . .
Out of the corner of his eye, Davey noticed that even Mudge looked interested. He was standing beside the cheer squad with a smile on his face.
Cliff really looked tense now. He came in again but lost his run-up and had to go back to his mark.
The Slammers went wild. Above all the noise, Davey heard Sunil call out to him, ‘Unleash the fury!’
Davey smiled to himself. Time seemed to slow down. Davey felt calm, focused and determined.
The bowler came in again. This time he overcompensated for the previous short ball, and pitched the ball up right into Davey’s hitting zone.
Forgetting the weakness in his ankle, Davey took a step forward and swung Kaboom. Davey connected with the ball and it flew straight as an arrow over the bowler’s head and into the sightscreen.
The Slammers had won!
We are the Slammers! The mighty, mighty Slammers!
‘Selective aggression!’ exclaimed Josh, as he and Max were the first out onto the pitch to congratulate Davey.
‘Mate, that was pure instinct!’ Davey managed to raise Kaboom above his head as the rest of his teammates mobbed him and hoisted him high on their shoulders.
Slowly leaving the field, the Slammers exchanged the customary handshakes with the subdued bunch of opposing players.
As the team approached the clubhouse, coach Gary made his way over to them. He looked a little like a stunned mullet.
‘You’re a team to watch, Slammers! Well done.’
Gary shook Mudge’s hand. ‘Congratulations.’
‘I’m as surprised as you are,’ Mudge confided.
‘I’ve just had a phone call from the local RSL. Seems one of our lawn bowls teams is short a player. It’s the finals, you know.’
‘I heard something along those lines.’
‘Wouldn’t help them out of a bind, would you?’
‘I would love to,’ Mudge’s eyes lit up, ‘if it’s okay with the team.’
Davey and Josh nodded. ‘Absolutely!’ They were on such a high that Mudge could have suggested going to the moon and they would have agreed.
‘As long as we can cheer you on, Mr Mudge.’ Bella couldn’t resist the opportunity to suck up.
‘It’s a deal then.’ Mudge looked as close to happy as Davey had ever seen him.
Woof! Max agreed.
Mudge swung around and glared at the dog, his ears reaching a dangerous shade of scarlet. ‘Just keep that confounded dog off the green, WAR-NER!’ he thundered.
‘Yes, Mr Mudge!’ the team chorused.
Things were back to normal.
Life doesn’t get much better than this, thought Davey.
BOOK ONE: THE BIG SWITCH
It’s the beginning of the school year and Davey and his friends discover that Mr Mudge is their Year Six teacher. He really doesn’t like cricket. Neither does Mo Clouter, the school bully, who is constantly getting Davey and his friends in trouble.
Davey and his teammates need to practise as much as they can for a huge match against their club rivals, but they’re on detention again and there’s no time to hit the nets.
How are they going to get ready for the match and keep their place on the club ladder?
Davey’s got an idea . . . but if only there was time!
BOOK TWO: PLAYING UP
Davey Warner has a secret weapon — his bat, Kaboom, which makes him feel invincible at the crease. It’s never far from his grip – anytime, or any place.
But after mucking up in class, Mr Mudge, Davey’s Year Six teacher, confiscates Kaboom.
And even more disastrous, there’s a selector coming to club practice — and Davey’s older brother, Steve, makes an offer Davey can’t refuse.
What will Davey do without his precious bat?
BOOK THREE: KEEP IT DOWN
For Davey and his friends, the worst thing in the world has happened. They have a big match coming up and their teammates are falling like flies.
Most terrible of all is that Mo Clouter, the school bully who hates cricket, wants to play. What’s he up to?
Luckily, there’s a new kid at school, who just happens to be an ace player. Tay Tui is an awesome wicketkeeper, but she won’t stop singing while she plays. It’s so distracting.
Then, disaster – Davey’s in trouble again and he’s on detention for the match. It all seems hopeless. How on earth will they play without a full team, let alone win?
BOOK FOUR: HIT FOR SIX
Davey Warner bets school bully Mo Clouter that he can hit six sixes in the Sandhills Sluggers’ upcoming battle against their club rivals.
But after a disastrous school excursion to the local lawn bowls club, Davey is in trouble again, then forgets to hand in his assignment. His Year Six teacher, Mr Mudge, bans Davey from playing cricket until it’s done.
Can Davey get his assignment done, hit six sixes in the match and help the Sluggers seize top spot on the ladder?
BOOK FIVE: THE BIG TIME
Happy days! Davey Warner, Sunil Deep and Tay Tui have been selected to play for the local rep team, the South-East Slammers. It’s a dream come true, even if Mr Perfect, Josh Jarrett from Shimmer Bay under 12s, is captain.
Training is twice a week, no excuses. Davey, Sunil and Tay would go every day if they could – the only problem is that it clashes with cheeky Max’s doggy school.
How can Davey keep his promise to his mum to train Max and play for the South-East Slammers? And how can his other friends help out so Davey can live his dream?
But why is Mo Clouter looking so pleased with himself? And will Max ever behave himself?
OTHER BOOKS IN THE KABOOM KID SERIES
THE BIG SWITCH
PLAYING UP
KEEP IT DOWN!
HIT FOR SIX
THE BIG TIME
THE KABOOM KID – HOME AND AWAY
First published in Australia in 2015 by
Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited
Suite 19A, Level 1, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062
A CBS Company
Sydney New York London Toronto New Delhi
Visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.au
© David Warner and J.S. Black 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Creator: Warner, David Andrew, author.
Title: Home and away/David Warner.
ISBN: 9781925310337 (paperback)
9781925310351 (ebook)
Series: Warner, David Andrew. Kaboom Kid; 6.
Target Audience: For primary school age.
Subjects: Cricket – Australia – Juvenile fiction.
Cricket players – Australia – Juvenile fiction.
Other Creators/Contributors: Black, J.S., author.
Dewey Number: A823.4
Cover and internal design by Hannah Janzen
Cover and internal illustrations by Jules Faber
Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia
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