About the Book
Will Albright has finally achieved his dream of representing his home state of Victoria in cricket! But while playing at the MCG in a junior T20 competition may be a dream come true, it could fast turn into a nightmare if Will can’t focus long enough to get his form together. Luckily Glenn Maxwell is on hand to help Will through his sudden crisis of confidence.
It’s state against state in a knockout fight to see which team can win the T20 National Youth Shield.
Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Big Fish
Mr Positivity
Luck of the Draw
Sky High
Mr Egotistical
Fish Out Of Water
Humble Pie
The Long Walk Back
Battle Scars
Maxi to the Rescue
Batting Up A Storm
Hit and Run
Moment of Mirth
Down For The Count
Just Keep Swinging
Pride of the State
About Glenn Maxwell
Criket Tips
Glossary
Also in the series
Copyright Notice
Loved the book?
BIG FISH
WHAP!
The cricket ball whistled through the air, bounced once in the outfield, then leapt happily over the fence for four.
It was the first game of the season and Will Albright was having a blinder. He was already 44 off 17 balls. His run rate was phenomenal for a club match.
The stocky kid from the East Heights club who was steaming in from the northern end had gotten faster since last year but to Will, it seemed like he was moving in slow motion compared to the supersonic speed of the T20 Academy bowlers like Darren ‘Killer’ McKinnon. In fact, the entire pace of club cricket seemed slow to Will now.
Will cracked another short ball for a whopping six to bring up his half-century. As he watched the shoulders of the East Heights bowler slump, Will almost felt guilty. It was too easy.
‘Way to go, Will!’ Mr Albright called at the top of his lungs, before throwing in a whistle for extra encouragement. Will’s mum was waving excitedly as well. Even Will’s 64-year-old nanna, who had come along especially to watch Will in the first game of the season, was clapping with gusto – in a refined-nanna kind of way.
The Green Park Rangers took to the field in the second innings to defend their impressive total of 147. But by the tenth over, the team’s fast bowlers had claimed just two wickets and Will made the captain’s call to bring on the spinners.
This season, Will was one of them. The other spinner, Aaron Mooney, was a tidy bowler but he didn’t have Will’s variation or his Glenn-Maxwell-inspired top-secret carrom ball. While Aaron helped restrain the run rate, it was Will who proved more deadly to the East Heights batsmen.
In his first over, Will delivered a jagging off-spinner that curled back on the batsman and skimmed off the edge of the bat into the waiting hands of the keeper. In his second over, he produced a topspinner that fooled the new East Heights batsman completely and smashed through the leg stump. Two balls later, he unleashed the carrom ball. Will casually stepped up to the popping crease and rolled his arm over, carefully hiding his grip so his ball would be a surprise.
The East Heights batsman didn’t have a clue what hit him. First, Will flicked the ball out to the off side and it beat the batsman completely. It even fooled the wicketkeeper, who missed the pick-up, and the ball rolled almost all the way to the fence before being chased down by a fielder. For the next ball, Will flicked the ball to the leg side and the batsman went after it. Unfortunately for the batsman, he was fooled again and the ball slid past the bat and onto his pads. He was given LBW and reluctantly walked away, shaking his head and trying to work out just what it was he had been beaten by. At the end of the over, Will tossed the ball back to Aaron who shrugged. ‘You may as well keep it; I can’t do that.’
Will waved Aaron’s comment away, but inside he was quite pleased. His cricket had come a long way since last season and it was all down to being selected for the academy and making the state team. With his new-found skill, he could almost single-handedly obliterate the opposition!
At the end of the match, Will and the boys celebrated in the change rooms. Will had the best figures for batting and bowling.
‘Will, that was one of the most amazing individual performances at this club I’ve ever witnessed,’ said Geoff, the Green Park coach. ‘If you keep that up, we’ll be in the grand final again this year!’
‘Thanks, Geoff,’ said Will with a grin. But as he looked around the change room at his teammates, he couldn’t help notice that some had turned away.
‘I guess joining the academy has really helped you accelerate your skill level, hey?’ said Geoff.
‘Yeah, I guess. There’re so many great players there that you really have to go up a gear,’ said Will, but, again, he was distracted when two of his teammates rolled their eyes at each other.
‘So now you’ve come back to club cricket, you’re the big fish,’ said Geoff.
‘Big fish?’ said Will, still a little distracted by the eye rolling.
‘You’re the big fish in the little pond here, Will. You were running rings around those other guys out there today! But don’t worry, that’s good for us – at least until you go off to play with the state squad,’ grinned Geoff. ‘Then I’ll need some of these other minnows to step up!’ he said, pointing his head in the direction of the other players. It was meant to be a joke but no one laughed.
Will decided to play things down a little. ‘Well, I guess I’ll be back to being a little fish when I go into the state team,’ he said, trying to sound suitably modest.
‘Hey, don’t you let those other state players intimidate you. You don’t have to be the little fish. Just starting thinking big,’ advised Geoff.
‘Okay, I’ll try. Thanks, Geoff,’ said Will. He began packing up his gear and looked around the room once more. All the other players looked away, some at the wall, some at their bags, some at nothing at all. Only Geoff kept smiling back at Will.
Well, this is a little awkward, thought Will. I don’t get why they’re acting like this. Are they jealous?
Will had played with most of these boys for the past three years.
Just because I’m in the T20 Academy and I’ve made the state side doesn’t mean I’ve changed. I’m still the same old Will!
‘See ya next week,’ said Will. There were a few half-nods and grunts but only one decent ‘See ya’. Will shook his head and headed back out into the bright November sunlight, to the car where his dad was waiting for him.
Oh well, who needs them? Next month I’ll be playing for Victoria! And maybe Geoff is right. All I need to do is think big. No more negativity; no more doubting myself. From now on, I’ll play like I did today: with total confidence. When I get back to the academy, I’m going to be the big fish in the big pond!
MR POSITIVITY
Three weeks later, Will leapt off the green and gold St Kilda Beach tram with his cricket kitbag slung over his shoulder and darted through the gates of the academy training centre like someone had poured some rather hyperactive ants down his pants. He couldn’t wait to get to training.
Since the announcement of the Junior Boys’ Victorian T20 team, things had been a little slow at the academy. Besides a training clinic in the September holidays, there had been an extended break in training because almost half the state squad was from regional Victoria, which made it difficult to get everyone together. The boys were encouraged to use their training and club matches to stay fit and hone their skills, but now that the national competition was just
two weeks away, the whole team was finally coming together for an intense training camp. All the country players would be staying at the academy centre in brand-new overnight accommodation facilities. Will was a little jealous that the city kids couldn’t stay, too. Well, at least he got the last two weeks of school off.
Will hurdled a sprinkler that was snicker-snacking its way across the pristine lawn, tore up the steps of the large, white academy building and skidded through the glass sliding doors. He casually flashed his ID card at the man behind the reception desk and dashed to the lifts, feeling almost ready to burst.
As the lift doors began to close, they were halted by a single large fist jamming its way between the silver metal lips. It was Killer.
Will pushed the open-door button and let Darren ‘Killer’ McKinnon in.
Will nodded hello and Darren grunted back as the lift began ascending.
Suddenly, Will called out, ‘Wait! Stop!’
Darren jumped. ‘What?’
‘You forgot Teddy,’ said Will.
Darren squirmed. When Will and Darren had shared a cabin at the T20 Academy Cricket Camp, Will had discovered Darren’s secret: he still slept with a little brown teddy bear.
‘I don’t sleep with Winky anymore,’ mumbled Darren.
‘Winky?’ asked Will, barely able to stifle a chuckle.
‘Shut up,’ said Darren, but he shook his head and snorted a laugh.
This is going to be fun, thought Will as the lift doors opened. The two boys had grown a little closer since the training camp, and now that they were on the same team Will felt confident enough to poke fun at Killer. A big change from the first time they’d met.
Once inside the indoor training hall, Will and Darren found that a few members of the squad were already there, hitting some practice balls in the nets. Will spotted his friend Shavil Kumar and waved.
‘Hey Shavil, ready to take on the rest of Australia?’
Shavil laughed. ‘I guess so. What about you?’
‘Oh, I’m super-ready. We’re gonna slaughter them!’
‘Okay,’ replied Shavil awkwardly. He wasn’t used to seeing Will so gung-ho. ‘Aren’t you even a tiny bit nervous, though? We’re going to be up against the best junior players in the country.’
‘Why should we be nervous? We’re just as good as anyone else,’ said Will, his eyes bright with conviction.
‘Did you stop and have a blue slushie on the way here?’ asked Shavil. ‘You seem a little wired.’
‘Well, yes – two, actually. But that’s not why I’m excited! This is going to be huge!’ shouted Will, a little too loudly. ‘If we play well, we could end up in the Australian team. We could be flying to England for the T20 Youth World Cup next year!’
Shavil eyed Will suspiciously. He was clearly hyped up on slushie sugar. ‘Well, I guess it’s always good to be positive,’ he said finally.
‘Just call me Mr Positivity,’ said Will, bouncing his eyebrows eagerly.
‘I’ll stick with “Will”,’ said Shavil.
A few minutes later, Jack Jarrett, the T20 state selector and coach, entered the hall, followed by some of the players from the Victorian Bushrangers. Glenn Maxwell was one of them and there were a lot of sudden gasps and excited chatter from the boys in the squad when they noticed Glenn and the players strolling into the training room.
Jack was carrying a large cardboard box and had a mysterious grin on his face that suggested something special was about to happen.
‘Welcome back to the academy, boys,’ said Jack as the boys began crowding around. ‘You’re about to take on your toughest test yet: the T20 National Youth Shield.’ He looked around at the group of boys. ‘Representing your state is a privilege, one that you have earned after a lot of hard work. That’s why I’ve asked some of our state’s best players from the Victorian Bushrangers to present you with your state caps.’
Will couldn’t believe that he was this close to the Bushrangers. He crossed his fingers and hoped that it would be his cricketing hero, Glenn Maxwell, who would present him with his cap.
‘Hey, where’s Brock?’ whispered Will to Shavil as they waited quietly. Brock had been at T20 Youth Academy earlier in the year. If he was honest with himself, Will had been a bit jealous of Brock – of how good a batsman he was … of how much his friend Zoe had liked him … Will hadn’t really been looking forward to seeing Brock again.
‘Didn’t you hear? His dad had to go back to Perth for work so the whole family moved again.’
‘Oh,’ said Will. ‘That sucks.’
He felt bad for Brock but couldn’t help wondering about the opener position that was now vacant. Although he’d gotten used to the idea of being an all-rounder now that his spin bowling was getting stronger, he still sometimes fantasised about being a star batsman.
‘– which brings us to Will Albright, right-arm off-spinner and number-six batsman,’ announced Jack proudly.
I guess that answers that question, thought Will. Whoever’s taking the opening position, it’s not me.
Will looked up to see the familiar face of Glenn Maxwell and his moment of disappointment quickly disappeared. Will almost had to pinch himself. Glenn Maxwell was going to present him with his Victorian cap!
‘Well done, Will,’ said Glenn handing Will his cap and shaking his hand.
‘Thanks, Maxi. I’m not sure I would have got here without your help,’ said Will.
‘No worries, Will, anytime. Have a great tournament, okay? Give it to those other states!’
As Jack moved on to the next player, Will looked down at the cap in his hand and ran his fingers over the lettering of the emblem.
I can’t wait to show everyone I’m up to the challenge!
Once all the boys had their caps, Jack addressed the group again.
‘I hope you’re as excited as I am to have the Bushrangers here. They’ll be sticking around for a while to offer some advice during training. But that’s not all … I have some special news. I just found out today that the final of the National Youth Shield will be played before the Melbourne Stars’ first game of the T20 Big Bash League against the Sydney Sixers at the MCG!’
The squad erupted into cheers.
‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet,’ said Jack. ‘Tomorrow we’ll find out the draw and which group we’re in. No matter who we’re up against, we’re going to have to play well to get through to the finals.’
A few of the boys nodded and there was a brief silence as they took in Jack’s words.
‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ said Jack, breaking the reverie. ‘Let’s get training!’
LUCK OF THE DRAW
Will watched the wisps of clouds float across the blue sky above him and realised one irrefutable fact: summer rules.
The first great thing about summer was daylight saving. It was almost 6 pm but the sun had only just begun to sink behind the city skyline. Will loved the feeling of getting home from training in the daylight rather than in complete darkness. The second great thing was the weather. Finally they were getting some relief from Melbourne’s freezing winter and chilly spring. But by far the best thing about summer was that it was cricket season.
After a gruelling two-hour long training session, Will had stopped for a rest on the concrete steps of the academy centre. He’d just finished training with Glenn Maxwell, bowling a few deliveries to his hero and facing Maxi’s own off-spin deliveries. As he sat there, he noticed that the junior girls’ team was still out on the oval doing some catching drills. There was a round of cheers from the oval. It sounded like the girls were finished. Will took a swig of water and watched as the girls began packing up their gear.
I need to time this just right, thought Will. He grabbed his cricket kitbag and headed off down the steps, dawdling just a little as he got to the driveway that led to the car park. As each of the girls walked past him, Will kept an eye out for Zoe, the feisty, curly haired team captain that Will had grown fond of since they’d
first met at the T20 camp. He’d been hoping to bump into her. When there was no one left to walk past him, he got worried.
Where is Zoe?
Will found out the answer to his question the next day at the tournament draw when he saw Zoe standing next to her uncle, coach Jack Jarrett, with her arm in a sling.
Will made his way through the crowd of players, coaching staff and family that was getting bigger and bigger as more of the state teams arrived at the academy centre, over to where Jack and Zoe were standing.
‘What happened?’ gasped Will when he had finally gotten through the throng of people.
‘I fractured my wrist diving for a catch at training,’ said Zoe, her face dark with disappointment.
But they had only been at training for one day! ‘Yesterday?’ Will asked.
Zoe nodded. ‘It was my own fault. I was showing off. I just launched myself at the ball without thinking and came straight down on my wrist.’
‘So how are you going to play?’ Will realised it was a stupid question as soon as it left his mouth.
‘I can’t,’ said Zoe bitterly.
Will smiled nervously at Zoe but he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Usually they talked about cricket but Will figured it would be the last thing that Zoe would want to think about right now.
‘Okay, well I better get this show on the road,’ said Jack, interrupting Will’s thoughts.
There was a squeal of feedback from the PA, followed by the sound of Jack blowing into the microphone.
‘Testing … Thanks for coming, everyone. It’s great that you’re all going to have the chance to enjoy our new facilities. We’re going to get the draw underway now,’ crackled Jack’s voice through the mic. ‘Can I get all the team captains to come up please?’
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