Backyard dreaming

• Annie-rose Ferguson, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2005

The men gathered in for one last pep talk.
“Fantastic fielding, Peterson come up from midfield, we need another slip. Now, there’s a slight wind coming in from the west but overall good conditions. Are you ready for this?”
You could almost cut the excitement with a knife; we were all too afraid to speak in case our stomachs came out our mouths in the strange mix of fear and excitement.
This would be the final bowl of the day, the decided of the world cricket series. This is what the team had been preparing for since we lost it two years ago.
In bowling we put the ever trust worthy McGrath. He had bowled a good series and was a seasoned player. He knew every trick in the book and we were all certain that this was his moment to shine.
I walked as fast as my shaking legs could take back to behind the stumps. Everyone went back to their fielding positions; we set up the field carefully. I moved people here and there, determined that this would be the bowl to win the world.
I could hear the commentator’s words clearly.
“Asia has drawn even to Australia with just one wicket in hand. It’s all down to one man, McGrath.”
The eerie silence of the crowd allowed the final words to echo through the stands. “McGrath…McGrath…McGrath…”
I looked over the field one last time, making a snap decision to move Jacobs forward a few metres so he was closer to Mathews.
I shuffled from foot to foot attempting to find a position where my legs didn’t shake like jelly. Crouching down just slightly I called out to the men.
“Ok boys, one last bowl, keep the field tight and the pressure on them.”
I re-shuffled my feet and at that moment I heard McGrath’s feet pounding up the pitch. I didn’t dare glance at him; I just focused on the batter in front of me.
The ball left McGrath’s hand and the batter caught the inside edge. The ball flew over the wickets. He had taken off down the pitch in the hope of getting one last run.
It was all up to me now. I heard the batter running as hard as he could towards me. I leapt into the air and grabbed the ball and in the moment just before I lost sight of the wickets I threw it hard.
As I hit the ground I heard excited yells and looked up to find the wickets lying on the ground in front of me, I had done it!
I heard one voice distinct from all the excited yells,
“Jimmy dinners ready! Are our friends staying?”
I gave a glance at Glenn, Peter and Matt. They shook their heads and jumped over my backyard fence to head home.
“Coming Mum!” I yelled out to her.
Then I took one last look at my backyard cricket pitch, which had become my summer home, then headed inside.