Carnival Splash

by Michael Panckridge

Maddie shrugged. ‘Well, that kind of makes sense. Come on, let’s go back.’

  ‘We might as well explore a bit, while we’re up,’ Chase suggested, with a glint in her eyes as she dashed back up the stairs.

  ‘Explore where?’ Maddie asked.

  ‘Up here,’ Chase said, pointing to the next level.

  ‘That’s where the Sydney Thunder team is,’ Maddie said. ‘I don’t want to get caught with them.’

  ‘Nor me,’ Chase agreed. ‘So, we’ll go to the next level.’

  ‘Chase, remember what Mr Abbott said.’ Maddie hesitated on the Sydney Sixers level. ‘We’re not supposed to go up there.’

  ‘I know. So let’s find out why,’ Chase whispered, grabbing hold of the banister and racing upwards.

  Before Maddie could reply, Chase had disappeared around the corner. By the time she’d joined her friend they’d passed the Sydney Thunder level and had arrived at level three, the top floor of the mansion.

  ‘OUT OF BOUNDS,’ Maddie breathed, reading a little sign on the wall to their left. They were looking down a long corridor, with coloured doors on both sides.

  The two girls crept forwards.

  ‘There’s a room for each Big Bash team,’ Chase whispered, as they passed a pink door with a sign on it saying Sydney Sixers.

  ‘Listen,’ Maddie shushed, pressing a finger to her lips. ‘I heard something.’

  Chase gasped, covering her mouth. ‘Do you think someone’s in there? Shall we take a peek?’ Before Maddie could answer, Chase eased the door open.

  The girls stared wide-eyed through the narrow gap. It was dark inside, but they could make out some small flashing lights and a strange, crackling noise. Then suddenly, it got louder before abruptly stopping.

  That was enough for the girls. They dashed back down the stairs, three, four steps at a time, in a frenzy of flying arms and legs before they flew into their dormitory and dived into their respective beds. A few minutes passed as they gathered their breath, each desperately hoping that no one would appear at the door.

  ‘Hey, what say we –’

  ‘No!’ Maddie said firmly.

  ‘Okay, okay,’ Chase replied with a cheeky grin.

  Friday morning

  After breakfast, both teams headed back out to the oval. This time it was the Sydney Sixers turn to use the centre wicket. Groundsmen and women were preparing the oval and told Lisa that the pitch would only be available until 10.00 am, half an hour before the first game was due to begin.

  ‘That’s okay,’ Lisa said. ‘We’ll do some warm-ups and fielding then.’

  ‘Just like the real Big Bash League,’ Ned said, nodding approvingly.

  ‘Now, listen up, Sixers. We need to select someone to carry the drinks today,’ said Lisa.

  ‘It’s cool,’ Sachin said, putting his hand up. ‘I’ll be twelfth man today.’

  ‘No, Sachin. That’s not fair. Just because your name begins with an “S”,’ Maddie began.

  ‘It’s fine. I’ve kind of been prepared for it anyway. I’ll play in the second game, yeah?’

  ‘Of course. You’ll be our secret weapon. Thank you, Sachin,’ Lisa said with a grin. ‘Now, for this session, we’re going to bat in pairs. Being a good T20 batter isn’t just belting fours and sixes. That certainly helps, but it’s also about putting pressure on the bowlers and fielders by always being on the lookout for a quick single, or turning a one into a two. So, I’m going to bowl the ball at the batter, and you’re going to run on every shot.’

  ‘Like tippity,’ Hayley said.

  ‘Exactly,’ Lisa confirmed.

  As the practice session progressed, the players quickly realised how many bonus runs could be made, especially if the batters were making clear calls and running without hesitation.

  Each player was given six deliveries. More run-outs were achieved as the fielding improved, but Lisa had made her point. Aggressive running between wickets was an important part of a T20 match.

  ‘Okay, I’ve got a pretty good idea of your batting and fielding skills. Sachin, grab a bat and let’s sort out our bowling attack,’ Lisa called.

  ‘I love her,’ Chase said, running in to grab a cricket ball.

  ‘Uh oh,’ Andy groaned. ‘Look who’s coming.’

  Maddie turned. ‘No way,’ she said as she saw Claire striding across the oval, followed by a shorter woman with white hair.

  ‘I’m sorry to interrupt,’ Claire said.

  ‘That’s okay,’ Lisa said, her smile dazzling.

  ‘Where are the pink tips and pink beanie?’ Chase whispered to Maddie.

  ‘Rachael here has something to say to the team,’ Claire explained, taking a step back.

  ‘Yeah, um, well I just want to say I’m really sorry, everyone. I don’t know what got into me. I guess I just wanted to, you know, be involved.’

  ‘So, will you at least be barracking for us, Rachael?’ asked Fenn.

  Rachael looked down at her shoes.

  ‘Rachael?’ Claire prompted her.

  ‘Well, I actually support the Sydney Thunder,’ she replied sheepishly. ‘Good luck, everyone. Just don’t win, okay?’

  ‘So that explains why she did such a terrible job coaching us!’ Chase exclaimed. ‘She just wanted us to hang around playing her silly games and meditating so we wouldn’t get any proper cricket practice.’

  As Claire and Rachael headed off, Lisa got everyone focused again.

  ‘Look alive, Sixers,’ she said, clapping her hands.

  Maddie’s first delivery was a wide, but her accuracy improved with each ball – she almost bowled Sachin out with her last delivery.

  ‘I don’t mind if I don’t bowl,’ Maddie said to Lisa at the end of the over.

  ‘Thanks, Maddie, but I hope I can give everyone a bowl! By the way, I’m going to put you in the covers. I want you prowling around like a big cat, okay?’

  Maddie grinned, feeling proud. ‘No worries!’

  Jye called correctly when he and Andy, each chosen to captain the first game, met to toss the coin. The air was humid with heavy, dark clouds gathering behind the mansion.

  There were more workers, preparing the oval and surrounding area for tomorrow’s game, than there were spectators. Parents and friends of the players and the general public would all be attending the Crickomania opening and the final game the next day.

  ‘We’re bowling,’ Andy confirmed, returning to the group.

  ‘Okay, that’s good,’ Lisa nodded. ‘We’ll know our target if these clouds break. Andy, I think you and Fenn should open the bowling. I’m hoping that everyone gets to bowl an over, and some of you of course will bowl more.’

  ‘Even Ned?’ Chase mouthed to Maddie.

  Maddie shrugged. In practice, Ned had struggled to keep his arm straight and had a tendency to throw the ball, rather than bowl it.

  ‘Okay, let’s do this, Sixers!’ Andy shouted.

  ‘SIXERS!’ the rest of the team responded.

  Andy and Fenn bowled tidily. Jye and the other Sydney Thunder opener only managed one boundary in the first four overs. Tight fielding and Beccy rushing up to the stumps, as wicketkeeper, was putting pressure on the batters. It made them think twice about taking an extra run.

  From his pocket, Andy pulled out a little slip of paper. ‘Maddie,’ he called, rolling his arm over. ‘You’re next and then Hayley, okay?’

  Maddie felt the familiar tug of nerves. ‘Okay.’ She waved, glancing at the small scoreboard near where the Sydney Thunder players were sitting. They had only scored nine runs from the first four overs. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to continue with you and Fenn?’

  ‘We can come back on later,’ Andy said, tossing the ball to Maddie.

  ‘They’ll want to start scoring, Maddie,’ Mehdi said, from his position at mid-off. ‘Keep it nice and tight, okay?’

  ‘I’ll try,’ Maddie replied.

  Her first ball pitched halfway down the wicket and got clobbered over mid-wicket for four. What if I bo
wl five more of those, Maddie thought to herself, scowling. But her next delivery was the complete opposite, looping and aimed at the batter’s midriff. Unfortunately, the result was the same.

  ‘Head up, Maddie!’ Lisa instructed from the boundary line.

  The Sydney Thunder team were cheering and shouting encouragement. Finally, their batters were advancing the score. Andy rearranged the field, covering the mid-wicket boundary. But it didn’t seem to matter. Maddie’s pace wasn’t anywhere near as quick as Fenn’s or Andy’s and the batter’s confidence had grown rapidly in the space of two balls. Maddie ended up being hit for 20 runs.

  ‘Maybe I won’t have another over,’ Maddie said to Andy, trying to make light of the disaster that had just occurred.

  ‘We’ll see,’ was all that Andy said.

  Hayley, and then Chase, Mehdi, Kelly, Lan and Ella, one of the quietest members of their team, didn’t fare much better. After ten overs the Sydney Thunder had advanced their score to 73 and still had ten wickets remaining.

  ‘You’ve got to come back on,’ Maddie said to Andy. ‘You and Fenn.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we wait till the last overs for them?’ Mehdi asked. More team members gathered around Mehdi, Andy and Maddie.

  ‘Lisa wanted everyone to have a bowl,’ Andy said.

  Maddie beckoned them to huddle in close. ‘That’s fine, but after you guys. We have to break this partnership, and you’re our best chance.’

  ‘Maddie’s right,’ Ned said, nodding in agreement.

  ‘But what about Lisa?’ Beccy asked, glancing over at their coach. Lisa was standing behind the boundary line, her hands behind her back. She was smiling and looking relaxed.

  ‘We have to make the decisions,’ Maddie argued.

  ‘Come along, you lot,’ the umpire said, marching over to the group.

  Fenn and Andy bowled the next four overs between them and although they were able to reduce the flow of runs, they still weren’t able to take a wicket.

  ‘Now what?’ Beccy asked.

  ‘Ned,’ Andy said, tossing him the ball.

  ‘No, no,’ Ned said, shaking his head. ‘Guys, I can’t bowl. I don’t know why I’m here. I love cricket, but I suck at playing, especially bowling.’

  ‘Just do your best, Ned,’ Maddie said, patting him on the back.

  Ned took the ball, holding it in both hands as though it were an expensive Christmas ornament. He ran to the crease, trying to get his limbs working, but, like in the nets, he just couldn’t straighten his bowling arm. The Sydney Thunder batter swung hard at the looping delivery as the umpire called a no ball. The ball sped across the grass to the boundary.

  The Sydney Sixers continued to encourage Ned, who tried his best. He even managed to bowl a legal delivery for his last ball. But the scoreboard was ticking over at a rapid rate.

  Mehdi and Hayley shared the final overs and the opening batters continued on their merry way.

  The batters received a standing ovation from the upbeat Sydney Thunder camp as they walked proudly off the field. The mood on the other side of the ground, where the Sydney Sixers players gathered around their coach was a lot quieter.

  Friday afternoon

  ‘The whole game changed when I came on to bowl,’ Maddie said, slumping onto a seat.

  ‘Maddie,’ said Lisa. ‘Some people say it takes seven positive thoughts to make you forget and move on from one negative thought.’

  Maddie turned to look at Lisa. ‘I didn’t know that.’

  ‘Okay, so here we go. One, I think you’ll find that while we are a team, the Sydney Thunder group will be relying on two players.’

  ‘Jye’s going to open the bowling,’ Maddie said, looking over to the Sydney Thunder team as Jye warmed up by rolling his arm over.

  ‘Just like he opened the batting,’ Lisa confirmed. ‘Two, you’re playing a game of cricket. How good is that?’

  ‘Three, I’m sitting here chatting to Lisa Sthalekar,’ Maddie added.

  ‘Very good point. Four, you’re playing for the Sydney Sixers,’ Lisa continued.

  ‘I think that might be worth two.’ Maddie grinned, she was quickly forgetting about her awful over. ‘Six, Mum and Dad are coming to the opening tomorrow and will watch us play in the final game.’

  ‘And seven, in that final game you’ll be playing alongside two Big Bash League players!’ Lisa said.

  ‘Okay, I’m going to put the pads on,’ Maddie said.

  Jye and the opening partner he batted with bowled out their four overs to start the game. They took three wickets and only conceded 17 runs. There were three dropped catches, so it could have been a lot worse. For all the shouting and clapping going on in the field, the skills of the Sydney Thunder players, apart from their two opening bowlers, were not matching their enthusiasm and confidence.

  Maddie batted with flare and style, but she was getting little support from her batting partner. Andy was the only other player to make it to double figures. Maddie remained not out, scoring 29 of the team’s 85 runs.

  ‘We’re not very good, are we?’ Chase said, taking a delicate bite of her salad roll. She was still chewing when a loud crack of thunder caused everyone to jump.

  Maddie shivered. It had suddenly got very dark. Large drops of rain had everyone scooping up equipment and running for cover.

  By the time the teams arrived back at the mansion, the rain was pelting down. The ground staff tried to cover the pitch, but the wild wind was whipping the material around.

  ‘This is not good,’ Jye grumbled, staring out the window at the grounds.

  ‘Hey, good batting today,’ Maddie said. ‘And bowling,’ she added, as an afterthought.

  Jye turned to look at her. ‘Thanks. We went okay today.’

  ‘We?’ Maddie questioned, a smile on her face.

  ‘Well, me and Kiara,’ Jye said.

  ‘Yeah, you two had a lot of fun. You opened the batting and batted the whole innings and then you both bowled your four overs. What do the other kids on the team think?’

  Jye shrugged. ‘We won. That’s what matters. Sydney Thunder beat Sydney Sixers. What was I going to do? Hit a catch? Retire?’

  Before Maddie could answer, a bell rang and a voice sounded out over the loudspeaker. ‘Could all the players please make their way to the dining room for some announcements?’

  ‘They don’t look like they’ve just won a game,’ Chase said, nodding at the Sydney Thunder players as they followed them into the dining room.

  Maddie had to agree. She was glad Lisa was their coach. She liked the way she got everyone playing.

  ‘I’ve just realised something,’ Maddie said, sitting down next to her friend. ‘Look around. We’re not all great cricketers. We’re not all going to be playing for our state or our country.’

  ‘So, why are we here?’ Chase asked.

  ‘We’ve been chosen because we all love cricket. Think about what Ned said. How he can’t play the game, but he loves it all the same. Not everyone can be good at playing cricket. We can try, but there’s only so many people who are going to make it into the actual Sydney Sixers BBL team.’

  ‘You’re right, Maddie. You’re so right.’

  ‘Hi everyone,’ Claire said. ‘Terrific game today. We were lucky to get it finished. I’m afraid the news isn’t so good for our second game. The pitch and parts of the ground are under water, so we’re going to have to cancel this afternoon’s game. But, we’ll be opening up both the Virtual Nets and the museum you all visited yesterday.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Maddie said.

  ‘It could be worse,’ Chase said, jumping up. ‘What’s it to be, Madstar?’

  ‘I need to work on my bowling,’ Maddie replied. ‘I’m thinking the Virtual Nets.’

  ‘Awesome,’ Chase exclaimed. ‘I’ll get another certificate!’

  ‘Hey, can I join you?’ a voice asked from behind. The girls turned to see Jye standing there, seeming a little glum.

  ‘Why are you looking so flat?’
Maddie asked him.

  Jye shrugged. ‘I know we won, but now something’s not feeling quite right about it.’

  Maddie cocked her head and smiled. ‘You’ll work it out,’ she told him.

  ‘I’m batting, and you’re not allowed to bowl fast, Jye, okay?’ Chase said.

  ‘No worries,’ he agreed. ‘I can bowl spin.’

  Maddie left Chase to face up to Jye’s spin bowling. She wanted to take a closer look at the Sydney Thunder players. They hadn’t looked like a particularly strong fielding team. Was it the same with their batting and bowling?

  The two nets closest to Chase and Jye were occupied by Sydney Sixers players. Maddie walked on. In the fourth and final net three Sydney Thunder players were mucking around, arguing about who was going to bowl first.

  ‘Hey, you guys want to bowl to me?’ Maddie asked, taking hold of a bat and striding down to the far end before they could argue.

  ‘Yeah, but whoever gets you out, goes in, okay?’ one of the players said.

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ Maddie replied.

  It didn’t take long for Maddie to realise that their bowling skills weren’t any better than their fielding skills. She faced an over from each of them, only having to actually play about four or five of the deliveries.

  ‘Does someone want to have a go batting?’ Maddie asked.

  A small girl with blonde pigtails and a friendly smile sprinted down to swap with Maddie.

  ‘We’re not very good bowlers,’ she admitted. ‘Still, we’ve got Jye and Kiara so it’s all good.’

  ‘You think?’ Maddie asked.

  ‘I guess,’ she replied. ‘Steve, our coach, says it’s all about winning and now we can’t lose.’

  ‘What do you mean, can’t lose?’

  ‘Well, since the second game has been cancelled, even if the Sydney Sixers win the third game it will be one all, which means we haven’t lost.’

  ‘That makes sense,’ Maddie agreed.

  Maddie bowled a few gentle deliveries then wandered back to the first net. She arrived to see Claire talking with Jye and Chase.

  Jye shrugged. ‘I don’t know anything about it.’

  ‘Nor me,’ Chase added. ‘Hey, Maddie. Claire was just asking if we knew anything about some kids going up to the top floor last night.’