by David Warner
‘Tomorrow is the culmination of all the work you have achieved here – the battle for the Camp Cricket Cup. I’ve decided to make the game a little different. We’ll play a 20/20 match but each player, except the wicket-keeper, must bowl two overs.’
People began whispering amongst themselves.
That’ll make things interesting, thought Davey. There’s nowhere to hide when everyone has to bowl. He immediately thought of Kaine.
Gold continued. ‘There’s more. Each pair of batters only face two overs before they are replaced. If a batter gets out, he does not leave the pitch but four runs are deducted from the score.’
The whispering grew louder.
‘As you are already realising, this game will require a clear strategy for how to approach the play. Your leadership team will have their work cut out for them.’
Davey’s mind raced with the possibilities for tactics he’d use if he was vice-captain or captain.
Gold continued: ‘Sunil, you’ve shown a good example to others so far and I know you’re skilled as vice-captain. I’ll let you have a crack at captaining the Red side.’
Sunil looked as if he might fall off his chair. He beamed and his dimple popped out in full force.
‘Warner, you have done well this week and your attitude has been good. Let’s see what you make of vice-captain.’
A stunned Davey couldn’t believe his ears.
Gold continued: ‘Kaine, you can captain the Blue side and Scott, let’s see how you go with a shot at vice.’
Davey felt pleased and worried for Scott. He seemed like a nice guy, but he’d gone pale at the news. Being second man to Kaine wouldn’t be much fun.
‘This game sums up everything you have been working towards and your coaches and some state selectors will be watching. Get some sleep.’ And with a wave of his hand, they were all dismissed.
‘Go Davey!’ Sunil clapped him on the back.
‘You too!’ Davey was really pleased for his friend. But he felt nervous too.
Sunil studied him. ‘You’re ready for this, Warner.’ Sunil put on his captain’s voice. ‘Let’s talk it through now.’
Davey nodded.
His mind raced. On the one hand, this was what he had wanted, but now that he’d been given the opportunity he realised what a huge task Arnold had given him. Not only had he not helped lead a side before, but he was also being given a game which required a well thought out strategy.
Davey woke suddenly in the middle of the night. He could hear a strange noise. It was repetitive and muffled. The more he listened, the more Davey realised that he knew what was making the sound.
Davey slipped out of bed. He scanned the bodies on the beds in the dorm room. All present and accounted for.
Maybe Kaine was getting in some extra practice.
Thwack. The ball hit the wall and bounced once.
Thwack. It happened again.
And then a muffled oomph sound.
Davey slipped out of bed. He peered into the hall, but all seemed quiet. He crept over to the Blue team’s dorm room and peered inside. As far as he could tell, they were all in their beds. Kaine was flat on his back, snoring like a chainsaw.
Perhaps he’d been worrying so much about the game his mind had been playing tricks on him?
But as Davey walked back down the hall, he heard the sound again.
Thwack.
Thwack.
Catch.
Davey made his way down the staircase and followed the noise. It was definitely coming from outside. He pulled back one of the heavy drapes and peered out of the window. There, standing under the pale moonlight, was a figure dressed in cricket whites. The man was hitting a worn red cricket ball against the wall and catching it skilfully with his free hand.
Davey stepped back from the window. He noticed the glass case containing Don Bradman’s bat and ball was open. Neither the old bat nor ball was inside.
By now Davey was wide awake. He made his way into the dining hall and saw that the door which led to the pitch was ajar.
Davey watched as the luminous figure continued to play. His timing was flawless.
Thwack.
Thwack.
Catch.
‘I don’t think you’re allowed to use anything out of the display cases.’
The man didn’t miss a beat.
‘But they’re mine.’
The man stopped playing and turned to face Davey. Even in the dim light, Davey recognised his face immediately. It couldn’t be! Could it? Davey felt a chill run down his spine.
‘Sir Donald?’
The man tipped his baggy green at Davey.
‘It’s fine. You can call me Don.’
Davey’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. His throat felt constricted and dry. Perhaps he was going crazy. He couldn’t really be outside in the middle of the night talking to the ghost of Don Bradman. He looked around, expecting Kaine to jump out at any moment.
‘So you finally got what you wanted. Vice-captain.’
‘Mmm.’
‘But now you’re worried that you don’t have what it takes to work as a team. Bit different to only having to worry about yourself, isn’t it?’
Davey flinched. ‘Yeah. I’ve never felt this nervous before.’
Thwack.
Thwack.
Catch.
‘You’ve been watching these players for two solid days. You already have all the information you need. You just have to believe in yourself enough to make the play. Lead the team. Work with Sunil. He’ll guide you.’
Davey nodded. Sir Donald was right.
‘And stop worrying so much about the other team and this Kaine fella. There’ll always be someone to niggle at you. Don’t let them get to you. Focus on your own game.’
Davey tried to think of something clever to say in response. Every word Sir Donald spoke made complete sense. But his mind was completely blank.
‘I will give you one final piece of advice.’ Don paused in his game.
Davey held his breath.
‘Yes?’
‘If you win the toss, field first.’
He tossed the ball to Davey, who caught it on the full. The soft leather stung slightly and he closed his fingers over the ball. Davey smiled. He knew Sir Donald’s advice would give him an edge. He felt a tingle all over at being given such a famous piece of advice.
‘Got it.’
Davey looked down at the ball. The leather felt warm.
‘If we win the toss, field first.’
He looked back up at Sir Donald Bradman.
But the legend had gone.
CHAPTER 12
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!
Davey woke early. He’d had the strangest dream about meeting the cricketing legend Donald Bradman. The dream had given him an idea about game strategy and how to help motivate his team.
Davey leapt out of bed. He had no time to lose.
Davey gave a soft knock on the door. He heard movement and then a groan.
‘Akhil?’
‘What?’
‘It’s Davey. Can I come in?’
There was a pause and a bleary-looking Akhil stuck his head out.
‘Can I use your phone?’
‘At six o’clock in the morning?’
Davey nodded.
Akhil opened the door for Davey. ‘Sure.’
Davey needed two things. He needed a home crowd to support his team and he needed an inspirational speaker to get the team fired up. But who? The closest Davey had been to a famous cricket player was talking to his Ricky Ponting poster.
The phone was picked up. ‘Ferosi residence, Bella Ferosi speaking.’
Davey took a deep breath.
‘Bella, it’s Davey Warner. I need your help.’
The Gold’s Camp Cricket stands were packed to the back rows. Bella had outdone herself. She’d rounded up the whole of 6M and even Mo Clouter was there, although he didn’t look all that happy about it. Josh and the rest of the
South-East Slammers were also there, including Dermot, their coach. Davey couldn’t believe it, but the rest of their local team, the Sandhill Sluggers, were there too, with Benny, their coach.
Everyone’s families had turned up. Davey could see the Deeps, the Pepis and Kevin’s family. Everyone’s family but his, that is. When he’d called earlier, Steve had said his mother was still cross. Maybe she hadn’t forgiven him yet?
Just then, Davey saw Steve and his dad making their way to the stands. Steve had Max with him on a leash.
‘Woof!’ Max seemed to be sending good vibes out to Davey.
Thanks, Muttley, Davey thought. I need all the good wishes I can get. He felt pleased to see Steve and his dad, even Max. But he felt a little sad that his mum hadn’t made it.
Davey noticed that even his form room teacher, Mr Mudge, was also in the stands, with their school principal, Mrs Trundle. Davey did a double-take. Were they here to support him? Stranger things had happened!
Davey felt completely blown away. There was no doubt about it, Bella Ferosi got things done. He felt a weird sensation of gratitude towards her and her peppy cheerleaders.
Bella was standing on the sidelines with her netball cheer squad and Ms Maro, Davey’s favourite teacher from school. Seeing Ms Maro, Davey felt a warm glow. She was just so cheerful. They were all dressed in red leotards with red skirts and waving matching red pompoms. They were working on some cheers.
‘Gooooooooooo Red!’
‘Boo to Blue, you live in the zoo. You heard what I said, our bet’s on Red!’
Arnold Gold called Kaine and Sunil out to the middle of the pitch. Davey watched as the two captains eyed each other off. He could just make out what they were saying.
‘This is it. May the best team win! Good luck to both of you.’
Gold tossed the gold coin into the air. It glinted in the sun and Gold caught it with practised ease.
Sunil won the toss. He didn’t hesitate, as Davey had worded him up about the Don’s advice and Sunil agreed with the tactic.
‘We’ll field.’
Kaine smirked. ‘It doesn’t matter. Either way, you’re doomed!’
Sunil smiled. ‘We’ll see.’
Sunil walked back to the team with a grin. He and Davey had stayed up late talking about strategy. Sunil knew that a different approach would be needed for this different type of game. He had a plan. And for it to work, they had needed to field first.
Sunil called his team over. ‘Guys, let’s huddle.’
The team moved together until they were standing close together in a circle.
Kaine walked past and held his thumb and index finger up to his forehead in an L shape.
Sunil ignored him. He lowered his voice.
‘I want you all to listen very carefully. We can do this. We just need to stay focused. In the field, concentrate on every ball and keep the runs down. No silly overthrows! If we keep their score low we have a shot at winning this. Remember your positions and watch the captain. We work as a team. We talk between wickets. We listen to each other.
‘When we bat, watch the ball! We need to take every ball as it comes and build the innings together. Talk to your partner – no runouts!’
As Sunil spoke, Davey watched the Blue team like a hawk. Part of Sunil’s plan was to try and keep his best bowlers for the best batters. So they needed to know which ones Kaine was sending in first. But they didn’t want to make it obvious to Kaine and his team that they had a strategy, or what it was.
‘It’s Anthony and Ari,’ Davey said quietly to Sunil.
Davey was surprised the Blue team had sent in their usual opening pair. It gave him a burst of confidence that their plan could actually work.
‘Adam, you can bowl first,’ said Sunil. ‘I’ll hold back until Kaine comes in.’
Adam gave Sunil a smile, ‘Sure thing, captain. Let’s do this!’
Sunil gave the players their positions.
Davey took a deep breath. He felt really nervous, but he knew the team would be relying on him to keep it together. If they saw how nervous he was, then they might lose confidence.
‘The last few days have been the best,’ he began. ‘You guys rock and I’ve watched each of you improve your cricket. But I think there’s room for even more. Let’s show the Blue team what we’re really made of!’
Davey put his fist into the middle of the circle and the team gave a big cheer as they pumped fists.
Sunil gave Davey a nod. The small affirmation from his friend gave Davey a burst of confidence.
Bella and her cheerleaders burst into another round of cheering.
The Blues’ opening pair put on 15 runs in the first two overs without losing a wicket.
‘They’re really good,’ Sunil said to Davey in a low voice.
Didn’t he know it! They were going to need every trick in the book to beat these guys.
Davey checked the stands again for his mum, but she wasn’t there. He took a deep breath. Stop focusing on the negative, he told himself. Keep the team motivated.
‘Go the Reds!’ Davey called out as the next batter came on. They had a minute or two while Sunil walked around encouraging his team. Davey made sure he complimented each player on their form. It felt good to see their faces light up, knowing that their contribution mattered.
The next batter was Kaine.
Sunil chose to bowl.
The two captains eyed each other down the length of the pitch.
Sunil’s accuracy kept Kaine’s score to just five runs in the first over he faced.
‘Go team!’ Davey clapped Tay on the back and gave George and Kevin a big grin.
However, in the next over Kaine and Sammy chanced their arms and with a couple of big hits scored 17. By the end of the fourth over, the Blue team was 37 without loss.
‘See if you can beat that, Warner,’ challenged Kaine, who had made 18 of the 22 runs.
‘Watch me!’ Davey refused to let Kaine’s taunts get to him.
The next ten overs passed without any major fireworks from the batters and only two wickets were taken.
With six overs to go and the score at two for 107, the Blue team were looking comfortable.
Too comfortable. Davey was feeling the pressure. He noticed that Sunil was looking pretty tense as well.
Davey glanced up at the stands to where Josh was sitting and it seemed to him that Jarrett read his mind. Josh had felt like this before so many times when he was their captain, and Davey had never realised.
The next partnership added 18 and, with only four overs to go, Davey and his captain decided it was time for Sunil to come back for his second and final over.
Sunil paced out his run-up, polished the ball against the leg of his pants, ran in and bowled the first ball of his over.
Whack! The batter anticipated the length perfectly and sent the ball flying back over Sunil’s head towards the boundary. George sprinted from mid-off, picked up and delivered the ball straight above the stumps at the bowler’s end. Sunil whipped the bails off as the batter ran for the crease.
The umpire deliberated for several seconds, then raised his finger for the run-out. The Reds and their supporters applauded loudly.
Sunil bowled magnificently, taking another two wickets in the over and conceding only four runs.
The Reds were now down to their last three overs and two of them had to be bowled by Davey. It was not a good wicket for spin bowlers like him, however, he maintained a good line and length and his first over cost only eight runs.
Although the second-last over of the innings went for 14 runs, Davey gave away only six runs in his second over. His second-last delivery was a leg-break with plenty of air and the batter, who had danced down the pitch intending to drive, missed the ball and was stumped.
So the Blues ended up having lost six wickets in their 157 runs, and – with four runs deducted for each wicket – this gave them a net score of 133. They were going to be tough to beat.
As they walk
ed in at the change of innings, Davey scanned the faces of his team. Everyone looked worried. He needed the cavalry to arrive and he needed it now!
‘What’s the plan, Sunil?’ asked Davey in a low voice.
‘You get their spirits up somehow,’ Sunil answered. ‘I’ve got a strategy.’
Davey nodded. He’d had a plan for the break to really rev up the team, but it didn’t look like it was going to happen.
Just then, Davey heard a bark. He saw Max tearing across the pitch towards him.
‘Here, boy!’ Davey called, but Max didn’t slow down. He sprinted past Davey, who turned to see what had the foxie so excited.
Davey’s mum was walking slowly across the field with Mr Henderson leaning on her arm.
‘Yes!’ Davey fist-pumped the air.
The Reds were in with a chance.
His mum had come to watch him play.
And his secret weapon had arrived.
CHAPTER 13
THE CAPTAINS’ KNOCK
While the Red team demolished a bucket of oranges, Mr H told them his stories of playing in the Country cricket team.
‘In one of my very early games,’ he said, ‘we played against a City team captained by the great Richie Benaud. He was unarguably the best-ever Australian captain and although it was at the end of his career he could still spin them. I made 50 runs and managed to hit the great Richie for six over deep mid-on. But he got me next ball with his flipper. I can still remember it like it was yesterday.’
He chuckled to himself. The team was silent, listening to every word. Davey noticed that even a few members of the Blue team were moving closer so that they could hear the stories.
‘But you don’t want to listen to an old man’s stories . . .’ said Mr H.
‘We do!’ Tay cried.
‘Go on,’ urged Lydia.
Mr H looked as pleased as punch.
‘You boys and girls might not realise it, but these are your cricket stories, right now, today. I had mine 60 years ago. Just like generations of cricketers before me, you are part of a legacy. Today is your chapter in Gold’s cricketing history. It’s up to you how you fill it.’
