The Big Switch Read online

  But as he scribbled out the story of his dad’s cactus accident, his mind returned to Mo’s trick. He had to admit that Mo was on to something. He’d been hitting left and right, switching the ruler back and forth as if he was playing tennis.

  Maybe, Davey thought, he could try a switch like that when he was batting. And maybe, then, he could beat Max at his own game . . .

  CHAPTER 4

  TRAINING TRY-OUT

  ‘Out!’ Sunil held up his index finger.

  George punched the air. ‘Mouldy Max strikes again!’

  Max had caught Davey out at silly mid-off for the hundredth time that day.

  Davey threw down Kaboom and ran at his dog, hooting. Max took off, tearing across Flatter Park towards the beach.

  After a minute or so, Davey stopped, puffed. He looked back to where the Sluggers were still training. Benny, the coach, was lugging cricket gear across the park.

  ‘Max!’ Davey called. ‘Back here now!’ For once, Max obeyed and together they trotted back.

  ‘Hey, guys! Sorry I’m late! Had to see a man about a dog.’ Benny dumped the gear on the grass. He bent over to catch his breath, clutching his bulging tummy as if it might explode.

  Benny was almost always late for training – and matches, too, sometimes. The team didn’t mind. Someone would bring a ball, some bats, a set of wickets or two, and they’d just get on with it.

  Now Benny straightened up. ‘Gather round, guys,’ he called. ‘We need to debrief.’

  When everyone was standing in a ragged circle, Benny launched into his ‘pep’ talk.

  ‘It’s a real shame we lost to Shimmer Bay,’ he said. ‘Fact is, they probably deserve to be top dogs. That Josh Jarrett, in particular, is real class.’

  Davey and Sunil looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Josh Jarrett might be ‘real class’ but he was also a pain in the posterior.

  ‘Anyway, no use crying over spilt milk. Next match is against Batfish Beach Bantams. They’re not much chop, but it’s going to be tough.’

  Davey, George and Sunil tried not to laugh. Benny always feared the worst. Weirdly, the more pessimistic Benny was, the better the Sluggers played.

  ‘And as for the game after next, against the Crabby Creek Crickets . . .’ Benny shook his head. ‘They’re equal number two with us now and looking good, so I can’t see how we’ll win that one.’ He smiled sadly. ‘Never mind. You Sluggers keep plugging on. Who knows? A bit of luck might come our way . . .’ He scratched his tummy and let out a loud burp. ‘So, back to what you were doing, while I go and grab myself a snack from the shop. Been so busy today I didn’t have a proper lunch.’

  Davey knew that Benny was never busy. He ran the corner shop with his wife, Barb, but she seemed to do most of the work. Benny read the paper a lot and was always popping out.

  As Benny turned to leave, he screwed up his nose. ‘What’s that smell?’ he said.

  Max barked and took off after a seagull.

  The Sluggers went back to their positions. They didn’t mind that Benny had nicked off. It meant they could play cricket without an adult telling them what to do.

  Davey was fielding on the boundary. It gave him time to think. Mo Clouter’s pesky face appeared in his mind’s eye, and he recalled how the great lug had swung the ruler like a tennis racquet. Mo had called it cricket. Yeah, sure. But thinking on it some more, Davey wondered whether he could try it not only to outsmart Max the Mutt but to help defeat the Bantams on Saturday.

  ‘You’re in again, Warner!’ Sunil was waving to him.

  Davey collected Kaboom from the sideline and took his place at the crease. He glared at Max, who was still fielding at silly mid-off. The way things were going, soon Max would be playing for Australia and have his own baggy green.

  ‘Watch this,’ he growled at his dog.

  George bowled a leg break. Davey turned quickly, swapped the position of his hands and tried to drive it right-handed past Ivy Mundine. He missed, and the ball flew through to Dylan, the keeper.

  A few balls later, Davey tried the trick again. This time he got an edge to the ball, which almost went onto the wicket.

  Max barked as if to say, Give up, boss. You know it’s useless.

  ‘Stop mucking about, Warner!’ George shouted from the other end of the pitch. ‘Hit it!’

  Davey considered his options. He could try the trick one more time or forget it as a bad idea. He decided to give it one more try.

  George came in to bowl. Again it was a leg break. Davey turned, swapped his hands and bam! He hit the ball straight over the boundary and into the swamp.

  ‘That good enough for you?’ he called to George.

  George nodded slowly, and gave the thumbs-up. ‘Not bad, Warner.’ He pointed. ‘You might want to get Max, though.’

  Davey saw Max leap into the swamp and lope through the mucky water in search of the ball. The dog ducked and dived before dashing out and back across the park, trailing slime. At least he had the ball in his mouth.

  ‘Now that dog is totally pongo!’ Sunil said, as Max shook slime all over them.

  Davey looked smug. ‘Maybe, but he didn’t catch me!’

  ‘And he’s given me an idea,’ Sunil said, a malevolent grin on his face.

  Davey raised an eyebrow. ‘Yeah? What?’

  Sunil tapped the side of his nose. ‘You’ll see.’

  CHAPTER 5

  TRICK OR TREAT

  That night, Davey’s mum made him wash Max. It was the last thing he felt like doing, but even he had to admit that it was either that or send Max to the dog pound.

  Sunil and his little sister, Lata, who lived next door, came over to help. They held Max by the collar while Davey ran the hose over him before squirting some doggy shampoo onto his back.

  ‘Can I help?’ Lata asked. She wasn’t much taller than Max, but she managed to rub the shampoo into Max’s fur and work up a lather. Now the dog looked like a walking bubble bath.

  ‘It’s a pity, really,’ Sunil said, sucking noisily on a Whopper Chomp, his favourite lolly. ‘Max has been an inspiration.’ He pulled the lolly packet out of his pocket and offered it to Davey and Lata. ‘Here, let’s finish these.’

  Davey took a lolly before Sunil could change his mind. ‘What do you mean “an inspiration”?’ he said.

  ‘You’ll find out,’ Sunil said. ‘It’ll be brilliant. Mo’s gonna flip.’ He grabbed Lata by the hand. ‘Come on, you. We’ve got work to do,’ he said, before heading down the side path. ‘See you tomorrow.’

  Davey shook his head. He guessed Sunil was off to play with his chemistry set. But why?

  Davey turned on the tap again and began to hose Max, but the dog ran off. By the time Davey caught him and finished towelling him down, it was dark. Now Max smelt like a mix of Hubba Bubba and hospital.

  Davey couldn’t get to sleep that night. For one thing, Max was snoring on the floor. For another, the dog’s unique odour filled the room. As Davey breathed it in, his thoughts turned to his tricky switch-hit idea. It wasn’t an easy shot, but he’d managed to pull it off once at training.

  Maybe, with lots of practice, he could do it whenever he wanted. It could become his secret weapon, something he could use not only to outsmart Max, but to help the Sluggers outdo the Batfish Beach Bantams and even the Crabby Creek Crickets. Maybe (and this was a BIG maybe), one day he could use his secret weapon to hit Josh Jarrett out of the park for real and help take down Shimmer Bay Juniors.

  But to get it right, he’d have to practise it every morning, every lunchtime and every afternoon. There was no other way.

  Just before he finally fell asleep, Davey remembered Sunil. I wonder what he’s up to? And what’s that smell?

  Cricket before school now followed a pattern. Max would catch Davey, then George, then Kevin – and George would bowl Sunil.

  This time, when it was Davey’s turn to bat, he decided to try his switch hit. He missed and nearly fell onto the stumps. The second time he tried it, Ke
vin almost caught him behind the wicket. The third time, it kind of worked, but the ball didn’t go far. But the fourth time, it worked like a dream – and almost took out the eye of Mr Mudge, who had just appeared around the corner of the toilet block.

  ‘Oh-oh,’ George said. ‘Smudge not happy.’

  Spotting the approaching teacher, Max had the sense to make a beeline for the side gate. By the time Mr Mudge reached them, the dog was halfway home.

  ‘Watch where you hit that ball or I’ll be confiscating it.’ Mr Mudge was out of breath and puffing like a steam train. ‘And don’t think I didn’t see that dog, Warner,’ he said. ‘This is your last warning. If he’s here again, you’re going straight to Mrs Trundle.’

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ Davey said.

  Sunil gulped, swallowing the lolly he’d been sucking. ‘Mr Mudge?’

  ‘Yes, Sunil?’

  ‘Could I go into class early today? I want to practise my twelve times table.’

  ‘Of course, Sunil,’ Mr Mudge said, looking pleased. ‘I wish some of these other ninnies,’ he pointed at Davey, ‘would spend more time on their schoolwork and less time playing cricket.’

  Sunil smiled sweetly so his dimple showed. ‘Thanks, Mr Mudge.’ He picked up his bag and headed towards the classrooms. ‘See you there,’ he called.

  When Davey and the others went into class, Sunil was already at his desk, his maths book open in front of him.

  ‘How’d you go, Deep?’ Davey said. ‘Learn anything?’

  ‘Twelve times twelve equals 147.’ Sunil smiled and winked at his friends.

  Mr Mudge appeared in the doorway. ‘Ah, Sunil, how pleasing it is to see a student put in some effort. You won’t regret it.’

  ‘I find maths so much more interesting than cricket, Mr Mudge,’ Sunil said.

  ‘And it’ll take you a lot further in life, young man.’ Mr Mudge surveyed the room. ‘Mr Deep here has been studying in his own time,’ he said, ‘setting an excellent example for the rest of you.’

  ‘Sir?’ Bella had her hand up. ‘I study in my own time every morning before school, during lunch and after school. It’s one reason why I mostly come first in things.’ She gave her ponytail a flick.

  ‘Thank you, Bella.’ Mr Mudge’s ears were candyfloss pink. ‘You, too, set an excellent example for some of your less conscientious classmates.’ He glared at George, then at Kevin, and then Davey.

  His ears still rosy, Mr Mudge moved on. ‘Speaking of setting an example, I want all the class to get involved in the Welcome to Kindy showcase. Ms Maro is open to any ideas.’ He made an odd face that Davey presumed was a smile. ‘It’s such a lovely way to introduce our newest pupils and their families to Sandhill Flats Primary. I’m sure some of you remember when you were in kindy and attended the showcase.’

  ‘Arrgaaahhhggrrreeeeuuuwww!’ The awful sound was loud in Davey’s ear.

  It was Mo. He appeared to be having some kind of fit. In front of him lay an open packet of Whopper Chomps.

  Davey glanced back at Mr Mudge. The teacher’s ears had turned carnation red.

  ‘Clouter! Have you been eating lollies in class?’

  Mo shook his head but was unable to speak. ‘Arrgggrreeeuwwwahhhhh!’ was all he could manage.

  ‘What is the matter, young man?’ Mr Mudge appeared perplexed.

  Finally Mo got a word out. ‘The smell! The smell!’ He pointed to the bag of lollies. ‘There – there’s something in there!’

  Davey became aware of a horrible stink. It was a bit like runny poached eggs and a bit like Max’s farts after he stole the Christmas pudding.

  Obviously Bella had caught a whiff of it too. ‘It’s disgusssting!’ she screamed.

  Davey glanced over at Sunil. His friend was engrossed in his times tables again.

  ‘Get those lollies out of the room this minute!’ Mudge’s ears had turned violet. ‘Clouter, you’re on detention!’

  CHAPTER 6

  SWITCH GLITCH

  Mr Mudge soon deduced that while Mo Clouter may have been breaking class rules by trying to sneak a lolly, he wasn’t responsible for the awful aroma emanating from the Whopper Chomp packet. Who was responsible, well, Mr Mudge couldn’t be sure, because no one would confess to the crime.

  Mo said he didn’t know where the packet had come from. ‘It was on my desk when I came in,’ he whined. ‘Whopper Chomps are my favourite.’

  Davey tried to appear as confused as everyone else. But when Mr Mudge discovered that the Whopper Chomp packet contained a small open vial of rotten egg gas, Davey’s suspicions were confirmed. Sunil’s chemistry set was to blame. Mo must have come to the same conclusion, because he glared at Sunil with pure loathing.

  Deeply unimpressed by the prank, Mr Mudge put the entire class on lunchtime detention for two weeks. ‘Don’t think you’ll be sitting around, either,’ Mudge barked. ‘I have plenty of jobs for you.’

  Everyone groaned, except Bella. Davey was particularly despondent. He needed those lunchtimes to practise his new switch hit before the weekend. Now he only had mornings and afternoons to get it right.

  At recess, Sunil tried to console him. ‘At least I didn’t waste any Whopper Chomps on Mo,’ he said. ‘Here.’ He pulled a sweet from his pocket and handed it to Davey. ‘There’s more where that came from.’

  The vampire teeth lolly was coated in sand and fluff. Davey gave it a quick dust and popped it in his mouth.

  Sunil turned to his friends. ‘You gotta admit it was a good trick.’

  Kevin and George nodded, impressed. ‘How’d you do it?’ Kevin asked.

  ‘Iron filings and vinegar. Easy.’

  Davey sucked thoughtfully on his Whopper Chomp. ‘Deep, you’re a master. Now we just have to work out how to get out of lunchtime detention.’

  By the time the weekend came around, Davey and the rest of 6M had wasted hours of good cricket time picking up papers, sorting last year’s lost property, and cleaning out Mrs Trundle’s storeroom.

  Davey had tried his best to practise his switch hit before and after school but, even though he was improving, he doubted it would be enough.

  The match against the Batfish Beach Bantams was to be played at the Bantams’ home ground, which gave them an edge, according to Benny. Still, the Sluggers had a few supporters, including Max, Davey’s mum and dad, and Sunil’s dad and his little sister, Lata, who was a fan and didn’t like to miss a match.

  When Sunil won the toss, he elected to bat first. ‘Warner, Pepi, you’re in,’ he called. ‘Now get out there and hit those Bantams for six.’

  ‘Yeah!’ Lata called from the sideline. ‘Do it, Davey!’

  Davey put on his helmet and adjusted his pads. With Kaboom in his hands, he felt ready for anything. There was no way the Bantams were going to outdo the Sluggers today, he decided.

  After pulling on his gloves, he followed George onto the pitch, and took his position at the crease. When everyone was ready, the umpire gave the nod.

  The first ball was a bouncer, and Davey let it go through to the keeper. He hadn’t forgotten Benny’s advice to take his time.

  The second ball was wide.

  It wasn’t until the fifth ball that Davey swung Kaboom, but he only got an edge to it and was almost caught behind.

  ‘Come on, Warner!’ Sunil was shouting from the boundary line. ‘Where’s your secret weapon?’

  Max barked. Yeah, where is it, boss? he seemed to say.

  Davey wiggled his shoulders to relax, then took his position.

  The bowler eyed him from the other end, before turning to go back to his mark. Then he ran in and let the ball fly.

  It was heading down the leg side. Now was his chance. He turned, switched hands and swung his bat. He felt the ball graze the edge.

  ‘Howzat?’ The Bantams were jumping up and down like battery bunnies.

  Davey looked towards the bowler’s end. The umpire raised his index finger in the air.

  ‘Out!’ he called.

  ‘Out!’ th
e bowler called.

  ‘Ouch’, you mean, Davey thought as he walked back to the boundary. Not only was he out, he was out for a duck.

  After that, the Sluggers faltered then collapsed. George was caught at square leg for fifteen. Ivy started well and managed a four before being run out for eleven. Then the middle order crumbled, and the Sluggers were all out for fifty-seven.

  At morning tea, Benny was gloomy. ‘They’ve done well,’ he said, scratching his tummy anxiously. ‘It’s going to be tough from here on.’ He looked at Davey. ‘Remember what I said? No silly moves or tricky business. So what were you up to today? ’

  ‘Dunno,’ Davey mumbled, giving the grass a good kick.

  Sunil slapped him on the back. ‘Don’t worry, Warner. Leave it to us bowlers. We’ll go in hard.’

  Benny jingled his car keys in his pocket. ‘I’ve got to nick off for a short while,’ he said, surveying the circle of faces. ‘No dreaming out on the field, okay? Everyone on the ball.’

  Sunil hadn’t been joking. He seemed determined to turn the match around, and had most of the team stand in close in an attacking field.

  It worked, and the first Bantam was caught in slips for five runs. The other opener didn’t last much longer, out for nine, caught at square leg by Ivy.

  But following a middle-order slump, the Bantams’ tail wagged, scoring plenty of quick runs to bring them almost level. With four balls to go, they were only three behind.

  George bowled one down the leg side. The Bantam batter hooked it high.

  ‘Mine!’ Davey shouted, running to get under the ball. He caught it – but he fumbled and the ball tumbled to the ground.

  ‘Aaaarggh!’ The Bantams had scored two more. Now they needed just two runs off two balls to win.

  George showed no sign of nerves as he prepared to bowl. His first delivery was a leg break. The batter tried to get to it, but misjudged the line and the ball went through to Dylan.