by Ellyse Perry
A huge lump formed in Ellyse’s throat.
In typical Bob fashion, he called the team over and presented them with the problem. ‘Listen up. I’ve got good news and bad news.’ That made everyone stare at Ellyse. The news was obviously about her. ‘Ellyse has been given a terrific opportunity to be in the Aztecs’ youth program.’
‘But the Aztecs play soccer, not cricket,’ Mitch said, a puzzled look on his face.
‘That’s right,’ Bob said. ‘Very quick of you, Mitch.’
The other Hoppers grinned and punched Mitch on the arm.
‘Now, the bad news is, Ellyse will have to miss three games. What are we going to do about the captaincy?’
Ajit put up his hand. ‘We could have co-captains, like some of the footy teams do.’
‘Yeah,’ said Mitch. ‘So we could have Ellyse and … and … Jamie.’
Jamie’s face went red but, instead of looking happy, he seemed downcast. Before he could say anything, Bob beat him to it. ‘Great idea, Mitch. Whaddya reckon, Jamie?’
‘Sure, okay,’ Jamie said slowly. ‘So does that mean I co-captain every week? Or am I only captain when she’s away?’
Ellyse jumped in. ‘Every week. Right, Bob?’
‘Yep. So let’s get cracking. We’ve got a game on Saturday!’
As the Hoppers ran onto the field to start their warm-ups, Jamie headed over to Ellyse. ‘Congrats. That’s awesome you were selected,’ he said.
Ellyse stopped her stretching. I forgot Jamie tried out too! Does this mean …? ‘Thanks. Did you …?’
He shrugged. ‘Obviously not. It’s okay. I just wasn’t good enough.’
‘But you are!’ She stared at him in consternation. ‘How could they not pick you? You’re better than me.’ No wonder he looks upset.
He ducked his head and worked on his hamstrings. ‘I guess I was up against lots of really good players. And they’d been around the schools too.’ He looked up at her. ‘There’s someone else who didn’t get in.’
She groaned. ‘Don’t tell me Josh Bolt tried out. I didn’t see him there.’
‘No, but they went to his school.’
‘Thank goodness!’ That sounds mean, but I’m SO glad I don’t have to see him every week! ‘Hey, I promised Bob I’d make some posters for the fundraiser next weekend. We’re going to try to recruit more girls. Do you want to help me? You’re really good on the computer.’
Jamie was silent for a few moments while he retied his bootlaces. ‘Um … I don’t think I have time. Sorry.’ He grabbed his bat and headed to the nets, leaving her to stare after him.
He just fibbed. He’s not busy at all. It was so unlike Jamie that Ellyse didn’t know whether to run after him or not. Maybe he’s more disappointed about the Aztecs than he’s letting on. I’d better leave it for a bit.
Once training was over, Ellyse was relieved to see the season’s draw had their first game on Saturday starting at 8 am. Early games almost never go past midday, she thought happily. I’ll have plenty of time to get to Maddy’s game. Easy.
It wasn’t until Ellyse had settled down to finish her homework after dinner that she remembered who else had tried out for the Aztecs. Hu! After Jamie’s disappointment, she felt almost too nervous to ask Hu, but finally sent her a brief text. Any news?
Within a minute, a text came whizzing back. I’m in! You?
With a sigh of relief, Ellyse texted back. Yes!!!
The Callinan teams played their friendly games against another girls’ school from across the city the next day. Their coach was a friend of Maddy’s, so everyone was there to help each other and let the new players have a go and try out their fledgling skills.
Ellyse only bowled two overs, but she was more keen to see how Charlie went with her spin bowling in the Second XI game. Charlie did a great job, only bowling three wides in four overs. But the best part was she took two wickets! She was so surprised that she just stood there each time, her mouth gaping open, as the umpire held up a finger.
Afterwards, Ellyse gave her a big hug. ‘You were amazing! Have you been practising?’
Charlie laughed, her cheeks pink. ‘I have, actually. I’ve been up at the nets in the park on my own after school. I figured I didn’t need a batter until I could get the stupid ball on the wickets.’
‘Then you definitely have to join the Hoppers when we go to the park,’ Ellyse said, and nudged Charlie. ‘I bet you could get a few of them out.’
‘You think?’ Charlie giggled. ‘Imagine me bowling Jamie out.’
‘You totally should play for us,’ Ellyse said excitedly. ‘We’re doing a fundraiser day and making it a girls recruiting day at the same time.’
Charlie screwed up her nose. ‘Yeah, I dunno. I’m still not keen on playing with boys.’
‘Why not?’ Ellyse asked. ‘They’re great, and Bob’s an awesome coach.’
‘It’s just that they get so serious. All that sledging. I hate it.’
‘Bob has totally banned it,’ Ellyse said. ‘Hoppers never sledge.’
‘Doesn’t stop the other teams, though, does it?’ Charlie said.
And that was all Charlie would say. Ellyse knew if she kept on at Charlie, she might make it worse. At least I can ask her to come to the fundraising day. Who knows what might happen then?
As the weekend was going to be full of sport, Ellyse had to make sure her schoolwork was done by Friday night. It was so hard to concentrate on maths and grammar when all she could think about was cricket and soccer. Her mind kept jumping from playing with Maddy’s team to training with the Aztecs Academy and back again. She managed to make a poster for Bob and used a photo she’d taken at the Australian women’s cricket test against England the year before. She printed out half-a-dozen copies to give to him and put them with her cricket bat so she wouldn’t forget to take them.
Knowing it was going to be a full-on day, Ellyse was up early on Saturday morning. She packed her bag, putting her bat and the flyers in last, and zipped it up just as Dad came into her room.
‘Weather forecast is for a hot day,’ he warned. ‘Make sure you’ve got your hat and sunscreen.’
‘Yep, it’s all here, and my water bottle,’ she said.
Dad lifted her bag and groaned. ‘I think you packed some bricks as well!’
When they turned up at the Hoppers’ ground, the team was already warming up. Bob quickly pulled Jamie and Ellyse aside to give them a run-down on what he expected of his two co-captains.
‘Communication is key,’ he told them. ‘Don’t argue with each other in front of the team. It’s bad for morale. I expect you both to discuss and compromise.’
‘Yes, Bob,’ they said, and grinned at one another.
The Hoppers were batting first against a new team, three of whom were girls. Ellyse and Jamie decided to stick with their usual order. It meant Jamie was at number four and she was at five, so they batted together towards the end of the innings. The opposing team were slow with their overs, taking forever to move their field around, and it was getting very hot out in the middle. Ellyse was relieved when the umpire called for a drinks break.
Back on strike, sweat trickled down the side of her face. She squinted as the bowler’s arm came over and the ball zoomed towards her. Whack! She smacked it towards third man and bolted, passing Jamie once and then again. I wish I could hit fours all the time so I don’t have to run.
The innings ended and Hoppers were three for 78. It wasn’t a huge score, so their bowlers went on the attack to try to take some quick wickets. Jamie started the bowling and then it was Ellyse’s turn on the second over. She handed her hat to the umpire so she could bowl and immediately felt the sun burning the top of her head. I’m hotter than an egg sizzling in the pan.
She checked her watch. Quarter to eleven. Was the game going to run over and make her late for Maddy’s game? Ellyse gulped. What if she let Maddy down?
The innings seemed to go on forever. Ellyse clean-bowled one batter, Jamie got another o
ut LBW, and Mitch took two wickets, but the other team batted as slowly as they bowled. Ellyse checked her watch at the beginning of the last over and was shocked to see it was twenty past twelve. Come on, hurry up! She was fielding near the boundary and kept her hat pulled low against the sun but her shirt was damp with sweat.
Finally, the match was over and she raced to Dad’s car, waving goodbye to her teammates and giving Bob her posters on the way. He hardly had time to say thanks.
As Dad drove down the freeway, he glanced over at her. ‘You’ll need more sunscreen. Your nose is looking a little red.’
‘Zinc,’ Ellyse said, holding up the tube. ‘I’ve got lots of it.’ She smeared it across her nose. ‘Just as well I’ve got a big shady hat.’
‘You should drink some water now too,’ Dad said.
She ate an apple and up-ended her water bottle, but it only had a couple of small mouthfuls left in it. She’d have to get more at the ground. When they arrived, though, Maddy’s team was already moving onto the pitch, having lost the toss and been sent in to field.
Maddy beckoned to her. ‘Great, you’re here. We’ve put you at silly mid-off, okay?’
‘Sure.’ Ellyse pulled on her hat and ran to her fielding position. At least this game would be fun to watch – she could try to work out who the players were, whether they were famous cricketers or not. Yes, that one coming out to bat with the curly, dark hair – surely that was Karen Thompson.
But it was more important to concentrate and field well. The last thing Ellyse wanted was to look bad in front of them. Nicola and Emma were also fielding for Maddy’s team and they gave her a wave. Ellyse wiggled her hands and waited as the first ball was bowled. It was a fast one with a slight inswing, and the batter defended. Second ball, third ball, four runs, the over ended, change position.
Phew, it’s getting hotter. How is that possible so early in the season? Ellyse used her hat to wipe her forehead and jammed it on again. The next over started with Maddy bowling spin. The batter hit it solidly, straight along the ground towards Ellyse. She moved to her left a little, caught it with a slight fumble that stung her fingers and threw to the wicketkeeper.
The game went on, one over followed the next, and then Maddy called to her. ‘Ellyse! How about you bowl the next one?’
‘Me?’
Maddy grinned. ‘Yes, you. Then we’ll have a drinks break.’
Ellyse took the ball, her heart beating fast, and walked out her run-up. Her legs felt wobbly and her head ached, but she brushed it off. Focus. This is my big chance. I can’t mess it up. She marked where she was going to start, gave her hat to the umpire and got ready to bowl. The batter down the other end looked serious and determined. She’s going to hit me out of the ground.
Ellyse took a breath, let it out and started her run-up. The ball left her hand and sailed through the air down the pitch. A full toss. The batter hit it squarely and it went for a four. Ellyse’s face burned.
I didn’t mean to do that! The next ball has to be better. She blinked against the harsh sunlight and got ready to bowl again. Halfway through her run-up, she felt her legs give way and the world went dark. She fell forward, bouncing hard, her arm hitting the ground first with a painful thud. The next thing she knew, her face was in the dirt and hands were on her back, trying to turn her over.
‘I’m okay,’ Ellyse mumbled, but she needed help to sit up. All she could see around her was a forest of legs, then Dad was crouching next to her with a bottle of water.
‘Here, little one, drink this,’ he said gently. ‘Take it slowly.’
She took the bottle and managed to get it to her mouth. The water was ice-cold and hurt her teeth, but it was like liquid gold on her parched throat. When she lowered the bottle, she’d drunk more than half of it. ‘What … what happened?’
Maddy knelt next to her. ‘Dehydration, probably. Your dad said you played this morning in the heat. Maybe you just didn’t drink enough water.’
A wave of stinging embarrassment swept over Ellyse and tears pricked her eyes. How could I be so stupid? I’ve made a total idiot of myself. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.
‘Hey, it’s happened to all of us,’ Maddy said. ‘I bet you’ll never do it again.’
‘No way!’ Ellyse said. She got to her feet and was relieved to find her wobbly legs had gone. ‘Can I finish my over?’
Maddy laughed and Dad rolled his eyes. ‘Let’s have that drinks break first, okay, umpie?’ Maddy suggested.
The umpire nodded. ‘Good idea. I could do with a cold drink myself.’
‘You can bowl again when we’ve all had some water,’ Maddy said to Ellyse.
While everyone ate orange quarters, Dad gave Ellyse a wet cloth to clean the dirt off her arms and knees and the side of her face. ‘Are you really all right to keep playing?’ he asked, with concern in his eyes.
‘I’m sure,’ she said. ‘I’m so embarrassed about doing such a dumb thing in front of everyone.’ She glanced around and identified four more international and state players, all casually chatting and laughing with each other. Even Nicola and Emma were joining in, and Nicola sent her a sympathetic look. ‘They must think I’m really stupid.’
‘I’m sure they don’t,’ Dad said. ‘They were worried, that’s all.’
Ellyse sighed. ‘I just want to get through the game without doing anything else brainless.’
‘Ellyse, this is not like you,’ Dad said sternly. ‘What do you always tell me to do?’
‘To get over yourself.’ She grinned at him. ‘Yeah, okay.’
She stood and stretched, feeling the ache in her arm where she landed on it, and made sure to flex and warm it up to bowl again.
Everyone clapped as she walked onto the pitch, and Maddy called, ‘Come on, Pez! Let’s have one of your yorkers.’
Pez? It was funny to hear Maddy call her that, but it made her feel better. Ellyse started her run-up and bowled hard and straight. The ball whizzed down the pitch and landed at the batter’s feet. She only just managed to block it; the ball dribbled back down to Ellyse. She picked it up and walked over to bowl again. It’s going to be okay, she thought.
The rest of the game continued without further upsets. Ellyse was able to bat, put in at number eight, and made a creditable ten before the innings came to an end. She couldn’t say it was the best game of her life, but it had been amazing to play with so many great cricketers. Afterwards she made sure to thank Maddy for giving her the opportunity.
‘I hope you had fun,’ Maddy said. ‘I’ll let you know if we do it again.’
Ellyse wasn’t looking forward to telling Mum what had happened, but when they got home, Mum didn’t say much. She just hmmed and aahed and then made Ellyse go to bed early after putting liniment on her sore arm. ‘You need a good night’s sleep,’ she said. ‘You’ve got the Aztecs day tomorrow.’
Yes! Ellyse wondered who would be there, what it would be like, how many girls there would be … It hadn’t been far from Ellyse’s thoughts all day, but she’d managed to keep her focus on cricket. Now, all she could think about was soccer!
Ellyse groaned as she sat up in bed. Her arm was stiff and sore, and it took a hot shower and more liniment before she felt able to move it easily. She pulled on her new gold polo shirt and made sure to take a full water bottle; even though the sky had clouded over, it was still very humid.
Dad and Mum took her to the Aztecs complex, where she signed in and went to the main meeting room. There, she found more than forty boys and girls sitting on chairs in the middle while their parents stood along the walls, and everyone was talking excitedly at the tops of their voices. She looked around but couldn’t see Hu anywhere.
Then a man and a woman came in and rapped hard on the whiteboard at the front. ‘Take your seats, please,’ the man shouted, and waited until the noise had dropped down to silence. ‘Welcome,’ he said, smiling at the kids. ‘I’m Mike Pazzurro and this is Wendy Hewson. We’re very happy to see you here, so keen and ready t
o go. You’re the best of the best – the ones we think have got the potential to go all the way through and eventually play for an A-league or W-league team.’ He grinned widely. ‘Hopefully, for the Aztecs.’
There was a ripple of laughter and, before he continued speaking, the door opened and Hu and her dad came in, both looking very nervous. ‘I’m sorry we’re late,’ Hu said, her cheeks burning
‘No problem, we’ve just started,’ Wendy said, though she looked a bit grumpy.
Hu spotted Ellyse and smiled, then quickly took a seat at the back.
That makes nine girls, Ellyse thought. That’s still not enough for a team.
Mike and Wendy both spoke for some time, explaining the program and handing information packs to the parents. Mike finished by saying, ‘Today’s session will go until four o’clock. Parents are welcome to stay and watch, but we’d appreciate it if you stay off the field and refrain from speaking to the kids.’ He said it nicely but he clearly meant it.
The last thing they did was hand everyone an Aztecs shirt to change into. ‘Might as well start as you mean to go on,’ Mike said with a wink.
Ellyse took her green-and-red striped shirt and held it up. It was almost the right size – only a little bit big. Luckily, that was the way she liked it. Plenty of room to move. She went with the other girls to the changing room and had a few moments to say hi to Hu. They chatted nervously before joining the others on the field, where Mike and Wendy were waiting.
The morning session consisted of drills; they went through dribbling, passing, tack ling, step overs and several moves that were new to Ellyse. It was hard work, and the coaches mixed the boys and girls for everything, expecting everyone to try their hardest. Ellyse recognised several boys whom she’d played against before, but there were lots more who were strangers. She heard someone say they’d been selected from all over New South Wales and that the Aztecs were determined to build the strongest youth pathway in the country.
Wow, I’m so glad I got picked. She thought she’d done okay with the drills – some of the others had been taken off to a separate group for what the coach called re-training. ‘Some of these kids have picked up a few bad habits,’ she heard Mike say. After sandwiches and water, the kids were divided into four teams to play practice games of twenty-minute halves. She and Hu were in different teams, but there was hardly time to worry about it. The coaches kept everyone moving, shouting instructions and sometimes changing their playing positions.