Playing Up (7 page)

‘You're
okay
,' Steve said with a grin. ‘Not bad for an eleven-year-old.'

‘High praise from the master!' Davey did a mock bow.

‘Don't let it go to your head,' Steve warned.

Davey beamed. He was still stunned at the news. Playing for the under-fourteens. That was massive! His mind raced.

‘Hurry up and grab your stuff,' Steve said. ‘Game starts in an hour. Danny's mum is going to pick us up in about ten minutes.'

Steve headed back inside, leaving the two friends staring at each other.

‘Lucky you, Warner,' Sunil said. ‘You never know, that selector could be there to watch.'

Davey remained rooted to the spot. He stared at Sunil dumbfounded. As soon as Steve was out of earshot, he gripped Sunil by the shoulders.

‘It's a total disaster,' Davey said, shaking him. His voice sounded full of fear. ‘This is an emergency! I need Kaboom and I need it
now
!'

Davey and Sunil took off at breakneck speed down Eel Avenue to Kevin's place. They didn't have much time.

Kevin's dad answered the door. ‘Kevin and George are still asleep, but feel free to wake them up,' he said with a grin.

George had slept over at Kevin's after staying up to watch Australia play India on TV. Kevin was snoring gently, his mouth hanging open. A thin trickle of drool had created a wet patch on his pillow. Sunil wanted to take a photo with his phone, but there was no time. George was curled up on a mattress on the floor.

‘McNab!' Sunil shook his friend roughly. ‘Pepi! Wake up!'

‘What?' Kevin's eyes shot open in fright. He sat up and hastily wiped his mouth.

‘Urgh!' George groaned as Davey nudged him with his foot.

‘Davey needs help,' Sunil said. He grabbed some clothes from the floor and threw them at Kevin.

‘Why?' Kevin asked as a pair of boxers hit him in the head. He pulled a face.

‘I'm playing for the under-fourteens!'

‘That's great!' George sat up.

‘No it's not!' Sunil snapped. ‘Have you seen how big they are? Davey's going to get eaten alive.'

‘That's going a bit far,' Davey said drily.

‘If we don't help him get back Kaboom, there could be nothing left of him by the time this game is over.' Sunil was pacing up and down the room.

Davey shot him a withering look. None of this was helping his confidence.

‘You saw Mudge on Friday,' Kevin reminded them. ‘He didn't let Kaboom out of his sight.'

‘So,' Sunil concluded, ‘wherever he is today, he'll have Kaboom with him!'

‘Mudge plays lawn bowls at Penguin Palace RSL on Saturdays.' Kevin winked knowledgeably.

‘We could go and plead with him,' Sunil suggested.

‘He's not going to give us Kaboom!' Davey was running out of time. ‘Mudge hates cricket even more than he hates me.'

George didn't say anything. He was deep in thought. ‘We have to think more like Clouter,' he said finally.

Sunil made a face. ‘
Clouter
?'

‘Mo didn't have Kaboom, but he offered us a trade and we took the bait,' George explained.

‘Hook, line and sinker,' Davey muttered.

A car horn beeped outside.

‘Thanks for trying, guys but it's no use.' Davey shrugged. ‘I've got to go.'

‘Wait!' Sunil grabbed his Kookaburra from his bag and handed it to his friend. ‘You might need this.'

‘Thanks, Deep.' Davey took the bat and left.

‘Good luck!' his friends called after him.

Davey's stomach was in knots as they pulled up at the Shimmer Bay cricket ground. A large crowd of supporters had already gathered.

‘Just in time,' Steve said. The umpires were already on the field.

They grabbed their gear and tumbled out of the car. Davey recognised a few people. His dad was sitting with a group of other fathers up in the stand. Howie gave Davey a wave.

‘Go, Davey!' His dad gave him a big thumbs-up.

Davey waved back furiously and nearly whacked a Shimmer Bay player in the head with his elbow.

The player ducked just in time. ‘Watch out!' he snapped.

Davey swung around to apologise and found himself face to face with Josh Jarrett, also known as Mr Perfect, the best cricket player Davey knew and the captain of the Sluggers' rivals, the Shimmer Bay Juniors.

‘What are you doing here?' Davey asked.

‘I could ask you the same question,' Josh said, looking amused. ‘I sometimes sub for the Skiffs.'

‘Guess I'll see you out there, then,' Davey said.

‘This is the big league, Warner.' Josh smiled. ‘Better keep your eyes open or you might get hurt.'

Davey wasn't sure which made him more nervous – seeing Josh, the game ahead, or having no Kaboom.

But he had no more time to worry about it. It was time to play cricket.

The Shimmer Bay Skiffs won the toss and opted to bat first. Steve gathered the team together for a quick pep talk. Davey knew that, as captain, Steve would have to be on the go continuously, thinking on his feet and making it up as he went along. It was a huge job and now he had his little brother to look after.

‘Today's a big match,' Steve said. ‘Let's get out there and smash these guys, they're nothing.'

‘Well, technically, their current for-and-against record against us is seven to one,' Jerome piped up. ‘In their favour,' he added, a little unnecessarily.

‘Yeah, but they don't play with heart like we do,' Steve countered with conviction.

‘They've got seven rep players and the fastest bowler in the league,' Jerome pointed out.

‘You can shut up now, Jerome.' Steve silenced his friend with a meaningful look.

Jerome shook his head, but stayed quiet.

‘We've done the hard work,' Steve went on with enthusiasm. ‘Just stay on form and do your best.'

The players nodded and wished each other a good game. Steve placed his fielders and saved Davey for last.

‘You won't bowl today,' he told Davey. ‘I'll get you to field at third slip.'

Davey nodded.

‘You okay?' Steve asked.

Davey opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He couldn't remember ever having felt this nervous.

‘You can do it, Squirt,' Steve said. Then he added, ‘Just don't mess up.'

As the opening batters approached the wickets, Davey took up his position.

His palms felt too wet and his mouth too dry. He stretched lightly on the spot, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, keeping his legs light and spry. It helped a little to have Steve's belief in him, but at the end of the day he was on his own.

Davey concentrated hard and tried to ignore the bowling ball in his stomach. He was going to do all he could to hold his own in the under-fourteens and, failing that, just stay alive.

The openers made a solid start, but off the fourth ball of the fifth over, Steve got one to duck away. The Skiffs' opening batter, Karesh, was drawn wide and his attempted drive only managed to get a thick edge. Davey flung himself to the right, stuck out his hand. He was as stunned as Karesh that he somehow managed to hold on to the edge. One wicket down.

‘Not too shabby, bro!' Steve yelled. He ran over to give his brother a hug. Even Jerome gave Davey a nod of respect.

It was a start, but Shimmer Bay continued to bat well. Davey saw little action again until Josh came out as number four, at the fall of the next wicket. Davey was surprised that Josh batted so high in the order in this grade, and burned to get him out. Josh made a point of flashing Davey a big smile every time he scored a run – and that was too often. It was infuriating, but Davey grudgingly had to admit it – the guy could play.

Although he'd lost a couple of partners, Josh was batting really well and scoring quickly. With his own score on forty-six, he was shaping up to take the game away from them.

Then he edged one past the slips, down towards the third-man boundary. Davey
chased from third slip with everything he had and more. He thought he might throw up from the effort, but ran hard all the way. He picked the ball up just inside the boundary, turned and threw in one motion. The return was right over the stumps and Danny the wicketkeeper took the bails off. Josh had been looking to keep the strike, but didn't make his ground. He was run out!

‘I kept my eyes open that time,' Davey said with a big smile when Josh passed him on his way off the field.

‘Warner . . .' Josh muttered as he left. He looked furious.

The lower-order batters for the Skiffs kept the runs going and, at the end of their twenty-five overs, they were eight down for 128 – a challenging total.

It was the Saints' turn to bat, chasing 129 runs to win.

They lost two early wickets, but Steve went in at number four and their captain was in good form. He helped them reach sixty-five with only four wickets down. Davey tried not to get too excited. If they kept going at this rate, they should win.