Kaboom Kid #8 Read online

  It was as if Kaine heard Davey’s thoughts and he looked around. Davey and Kaine locked eyes.

  Kaine stopped what he was doing and marched over to Davey.

  ‘Here we go,’ thought Davey.

  He’d been at Camp Cricket for about five minutes and already he’d made an enemy.

  CHAPTER 7

  SKILLS AND DRILLS

  Kaine walked right up to Davey and poked him in the chest.

  ‘You, Short Stuff . . .’

  ‘Me?’ Davey smiled.

  ‘You don’t belong here.’

  Davey raised an eyebrow. ‘Thank you so much.’

  ‘Listen up, wimp, the Monteith Marauders are back-to-back league champions. Last time I checked your team, you were heading for the wooden spoon.’

  Davey rolled his eyes. ‘You know it’s funny, I’ve found that the tough talkers always have the least talent.’

  Kaine gave them a dirty look and walked back to his team.

  ‘Nice guy,’ Davey whispered to Sunil, who gave a snort in agreement.

  Davey did his best not to let Kaine’s stats get to him. There was a Kaine at every game Davey had ever played. It was best to try and block him from his mind and concentrate on playing his own game.

  The pitch up close was just as inviting as it had looked from a distance. The grass was a bright, lush green, and the ground rolled flat.

  There was a welcoming give in the ground which Kevin tested by bouncing up and down on the grass.

  ‘Nice!’ Kevin admired the quality.

  ‘Looks like a fast pitch,’ Sunil commented.

  Akhil called them to attention.

  ‘This is a fun game to play as a warm-up. It’s called Continuous Cricket. I’ll divide you into two teams of six. One team fields. You can have a bowler and a wicket-keeper. The other team has one batter, one stump. The other players line up ready to bat.’

  Davey couldn’t help but notice Kaine hit the ball bowled to him way into the outfield. There was a smattering of applause.

  ‘You with us, Davey?’ Akhil asked.

  Davey nodded.

  ‘The batter runs whether you hit the ball or not. You run to this cone here,’ and he pointed to a cone not far from the stump. ‘Fielders return the ball to the bowler. If you get out, you swap immediately. The game doesn’t slow down or stop. Batters must be ready to leap in, or you could get bowled out.’

  While Akhil positioned everyone, Davey put on his wicket-keeper’s kit. The equipment at Gold’s was first-class and he was impressed at how his gloves and helmet fitted perfectly.

  ‘I’m looking for accuracy under pressure!’ Akhil clapped his hands.

  Davey’s team was fielding first. He threw himself into the game.

  He took two catches in one over off Sunil’s bowling. The first, off a solid nick, was a diving, one-handed catch and filled Davey with confidence. Davey’s wicket-keeping was razor-sharp – he stumped several batters who advanced down the pitch, returning the ball quickly to the bowler in time for him to bowl at a wide-open wicket.

  One wayward delivery from Sunil, a full toss, sailed over the batter’s head. Davey jumped, but even at full reach the ball was way too high for his outstretched arm. The ball ran away to the boundary.

  ‘Ha! Nice ball, doofus!’ shouted Kaine. ‘Shame your wicket-keeper has hobbit arms!’

  Kaine’s heckling just made Davey more focused and he continued to be on the ball, taking more catches and generally putting pressure on the opposing batters by whipping returns back to the bowler.

  Kaine played well, but clearly didn’t like being part of a team. He growled at players, criticised them for small mistakes, and made a big public display about larger errors. Davey felt sorry for Kaine’s vice-captain, who never even got a look-in. There was a reason that all teams had two leaders – it was too big a job for the one person. Davey couldn’t see Kaine leading by example. He ruled by fear.

  Watching Kaine made Davey realise just how well Josh and Sunil had worked together to lead the Slammers. Especially when things weren’t going their way. They encouraged the players instead of shouting at them. Davey realised now how difficult it was to focus on your own game and motivate others when they needed a boost. Not to mention all the strategies for handling bowlers and placing the field.

  He was only in his first few hours of the camp and Davey realised he had a lot to learn.

  CHAPTER 8

  PAINT BY NUMBERS

  ‘I’m calling it,’ Davey grinned as they walked back out onto the green oval. ‘I never want to leave Gold’s.’

  ‘How good was that pie?’ George agreed. ‘My mum tries, but she can’t make pies like that.’

  ‘I think I had one pie too many.’ Caspar groaned and clutched his stomach.

  Gold was waiting for both teams to assemble.

  ‘We’re going to play a game I like to call Splat,’ he announced in his quiet voice. ‘Even though it’s called a game, I think you’ll find it takes no prisoners.’

  Gold smiled ominously. There was a low level of chatter amongst the players.

  Gold held his hand up for quiet. ‘I’ll leave Tom and Akhil to explain and I’ll be watching from a safe distance.’

  Davey wondered what he meant by ‘safe’.

  ‘Remember, everything you do here – and I mean everything – counts towards your assessment as future cricketers. Have fun!’

  Gold gave them a cheery wave and took his clipboard up into the stands, where he took a seat.

  Sunil raised an eyebrow. ‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ Sunil muttered to Davey. ‘Look at Kaine. He knows what’s coming!’

  Sunil was right. Kaine was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

  Tom bounded forward, his blond hair flopped over one eye, and he pushed it away as he spoke.

  ‘The game is called Splat for good reason. It’s a cricket version of paintball.’

  Davey smiled to himself. What a cool idea!

  ‘Say you’re the first team to field. Akhil and I hit balls out to you in the field. If you miss a ball, then your opponent from the other team has open slather to splat you with their paintgun – that’s if they catch you. Too many mistakes and the Red team will be covered in blue paint. Get it?’

  Tom looked around eagerly for assent.

  ‘Then we swap sides. The side the least covered in their opponents’ colour wins the match!’

  Tom began handing out what looked like large paint pistols to each of the Blue team. Akhil gave each member of the Red team a set of protective goggles and a pair of overalls.

  If Davey was under any illusions about who his opponent would be, it was soon made clear.

  Kaine pointed his paint pistol at Davey and cocked the trigger.

  ‘See you out there, Warner,’ he said, sneering.

  Davey calmly put on his overalls one leg at a time. Then he adjusted his goggles.

  ‘Not if I see you first.’

  Davey grinned to himself as he passed Kaine. This was awesome!

  Davey jogged out to deep square leg, followed closely by Kaine carrying a serious-looking paintball pistol and an ammo belt slung over his shoulder.

  ‘Ready to get the blues, Warner?’

  Davey ignored him, loosened his neck and shoulder muscles, and concentrated on what Tom was doing.

  Once everyone was in position, Tom lofted the first high ball straight to Sunil, who took a regulation catch and returned the ball.

  ‘Nice fielding,’ Tom commented.

  A rogue blue paint shooter got trigger-happy and shot out a blast. The paint landed in a blob on the grass beside Sunil.

  ‘Relax, Felix,’ Tom commanded. ‘One more shot like that and you’re out.’

  Felix nodded.

  Score zero/zero. No dropped catches. No paint shot. Yet.

  One by one, the Red team missed or dropped a catch at some point in the game until Davey was the only player who didn’t have blue paint somewhere on his body.

  Tom l
obbed a perfect ball way into the outfield. Davey ran hard and lined himself up for the catch, but fumbled it at the critical moment. He took one look at Kaine and took off again at a sprint.

  ‘You’re mine, Warner,’ Kaine called gleefully, ‘all mine!’

  Soon Davey was dodging and weaving like a football pro. Kaine was one step behind and sent blasts of blue paint out into the field. Akhil called time and they both staggered to a halt and caught their breath.

  ‘No paint on me, eh?’

  That was too much for Kaine. From point-blank range, he fired a paintball at Davey and hit him in the thigh.

  ‘Kaine, you should know better!’ Tom looked annoyed. ‘That last shot doesn’t count.’

  ‘Got you, though,’ said Kaine smugly under his breath.

  The Red team didn’t fare as well. Perhaps it was because they were already covered in paint, but they were slower to run or fire accurately if a Blue team player missed a catch.

  By the end of the game, everyone was covered in paint and the field looked like a big purple stain. Gold conferred with Tom and Akhil before making his announcement.

  ‘It was close, but the Blue team is the winner!’

  The Blue team erupted in cheers. Kaine fist-pumped the air in triumph.

  ‘He’s going to be even more unbearable now,’ Davey said under his breath to Sunil.

  Sunil said nothing. His face was completely covered in blue paint, aside from the outline of his goggles. He looked like some kind of blue-caped crusader.

  Gold joined the two teams.

  ‘Congratulations, Blue team. You get to hit the showers first. Red team . . . Well, you’ll be out here for quite some time. This playing field needs to be hosed off and all of this equipment needs to be cleaned.’

  Everybody groaned. Their muscles ached from a full day’s play and they were all desperate to eat dinner and collapse.

  ‘Nothing like a bit of physical labour to motivate you to do better tomorrow.’

  ‘What I wouldn’t give to shoot a paintball right between Kaine’s eyes,’ muttered Sunil as they began their cleaning job.

  CHAPTER 9

  GHOSTS AND GHOULS

  Akhil had been right. Within minutes of getting into their beds, most of Davey’s dorm was fast asleep.

  Davey knew this because he could identify at least six different people snoring. It was torture to listen to.

  ‘We can’t let Kaine win again,’ said Sunil’s voice from the bed next to Davey. ‘I don’t care about the captaincy, Davey. We have got to bring this sucker down.’

  Davey felt his face break into a smile. Sunil loved to act as if the game was everything, but winning, or to be more precise, beating certain other people, meant as much to him as it did to Davey.

  ‘We’ll find a way!’

  Davey rolled onto his side away from Sunil. He pictured Kaine’s technique in his head. There was no doubt that he was good. But every player had some area that was weaker than others. Davey just had to find out what it was and use it to his advantage.

  Davey woke suddenly. He’d been deep asleep and for a moment he had no idea where he was. The room was pitch dark, but filled with the subtle sounds of sleep.

  As he sat up, the pain in his right thigh reminded him of paintball. He remembered he was at cricket camp.

  A strange low moaning sound was coming from outside the room. Instantly wide awake now, Davey shot out of bed.

  Out in the hall, Davey saw George standing flat against the wall. He looked terrified and was close to crying.

  ‘George?’

  Davey joined his friend. George looked deathly pale.

  ‘It’s the g-g-ghost! The g-g-ghost!’ George stuttered in a strangled voice.

  ‘What ghost?’

  George pointed down the hall with a shaking finger.

  Davey looked around the corridor and as he did so a light flashed further on down the hall. It illuminated a pale figure dressed in cricket whites.

  Its face was deathly white and twisted into a horrible grimace.

  Davey could feel his heart racing but he tried to stay calm. There had to be an explanation.

  ‘I don’t believe in ghosts.’ Davey took a step forward.

  ‘Wooh,’ moaned the voice, ‘I am the ghost of the murdered umpire, wooh!’

  Davey walked right up to the ghost.

  ‘You are the worst excuse for a ghost I’ve ever seen, Jai.’

  The boy called Jai collapsed into a fit of giggles.

  Davey shook his head. Jai had white sunscreen plastered all over his face, neck and hands and an old baggy green cap on his head.

  Kaine burst out from behind the ‘ghost’ and held a torch up to its face.

  ‘Got you, Warner!’

  Davey remained impassive. ‘No, can’t say you did. You’re a rubbish ghost.’

  ‘Well, George anyway. Your face was classic.’

  George was still trembling.

  Davey peered closely at the outfit Jai was wearing.

  ‘Did you get that out of one of the displays?’

  ‘Maybe!’ Kaine laughed. ‘What’s it to you?’

  ‘These are really old and probably worth a bit,’ said Davey. ‘C’mon, put them back before we get busted.’

  ‘I . . .’ Jai protested. ‘He made me do it.’ He pointed at Kaine.

  ‘Listen to you both! I’m surrounded by sissies.’ Kaine pushed past. ‘I’m going to bed.’

  Jai looked ashamed and scuttled off after Kaine.

  ‘Come on, shake it off, George!’ Davey put an arm around his friend. ‘Everyone has a weakness. Even Kaine. We just have to figure out what it is!’

  CHAPTER 10

  BATTER UP

  The next morning, Davey was pumped to help Sunil get the team ready. While Sunil went to wake up the girls, Davey managed to get the whole of the Red room up, dressed and discussing playing techniques by the time the girls and Sunil joined them in the dining hall.

  It was a new experience, but it felt good to help the others with their game. Davey realised that in the past, he would have been the last one out of bed.

  He smiled when he saw Akhil’s look of astonishment as he entered the dining hall.

  ‘You’re eager beavers,’ Akhil said with a yawn. ‘I came to wake you guys up and the dorm room was empty!’

  He slid into a seat and joined them. ‘Batting practice this morning!’

  After a slap-up breakfast of bacon and eggs, they assembled in the nets.

  ‘What we’re looking for is an improvement in your shot-making,’ Akhil explained. ‘For instance, Davey, you can work on six-hitting. Lydia, you need to work on your backfoot play. Tay, I’d like to see some work on your driving.’

  Davey pulled his trusty Kaboom bat from his kitbag and gripped the handle. He loved the feel of the rubber under his palms. It had worn over time to feel almost like a second skin.

  Davey spent the next twenty minutes relentlessly hitting sixes.

  ‘Take that!’ He imagined the back of the net was Kaine’s face and whacked the ball as hard as he could.

  That’ll take the grin off your big ugly mug!

  ‘Looking good, Davey!’ Akhil stood behind and watched. ‘Try moving your front foot out of the way so that you have the widest possible arc to hit the ball. Gives you a greater choice of where to place the ball.’

  ‘I’ll give it a try.’ Davey felt lucky to be having one-on-one coaching. He’d never had proper coaching before and he could already see that he was learning new things. He felt a rush of gratitude towards Akhil.

  Thwack!

  Davey concentrated on opening his stance and moving his front foot to the side so that his swing was wider. It really worked!

  Akhil nodded with approval. ‘That’s more like it!’

  Thwack!

  Davey continued to slam out sixes until he thought his arms might drop off. Finally, Akhil reckoned they could take a break.

  ‘About time!’ Tay grabbed a handful of ap
ple slices and shoved them into her mouth at once.

  ‘I’m starved!’ Kevin agreed, as he helped himself to a large plate of sandwiches.

  ‘Ah, Kevin . . .’ Akhil gently retrieved the plate. ‘That’s for the whole team, not just you.’

  Kevin blew crumbs out of his mouth. ‘Sorry.’

  They were all hungry and chowed down on fruit and savoury muffins and watched the Blue team as they practised their bowling. They’d be trading places after lunch.

  Davey noticed that Kaine’s bowling was nowhere near as strong as his batting. In fact, if he had a weakness, then that was it. Not to mention his general attitude . . .

  After the break, Davey had a try at using the bowling machine. It operated in the nets and you could regulate it to bowl a specific speed and length. Davey wanted to practise his cover drive.

  ‘This is an attacking stroke,’ Akhil explained. ‘Keep a relaxed, balanced stance, with your head still and eyes level.’

  Davey did as Akhil instructed.

  ‘Use your normal backlift, take a step forward; your leading foot should have a comfortable stride to the pitch of the ball. Then the front shoulder should dip and the front knee bends, like this.’ Akhil demonstrated.

  Davey watched. ‘Okay.’

  He got into position. Akhil sent a few balls up to Davey and called out tips.

  ‘The ball should be struck beneath your nose!’

  ‘Keep a straight back, raise your elbow!’

  ‘Don’t play it too soon or you’ll hit it into the air for a possible catch. Try to hit the ball along the ground.’

  Finally, after receiving six overs from the bowling machine, Davey really felt he had mastered the cover drive. He was drenched in sweat and his arms were shaking, but he couldn’t remember ever having felt so happy.

  CHAPTER 11

  CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

  The afternoon passed quickly with hours of bowling practice. The team was wolfing down dinner when Arnold Gold entered the room. As always, he seemed to just appear and all at once the talking petered out until the room was completely silent.