Alice Henderson On Debut

Four

I'm sorting through my kit bag at the innings break when someone sits down beside me on the bench. I'm so engrossed in what I'm doing, I don't pay too much attention. As I reach into my bag and pull out my gloves, a voice says, "Tough going out there, huh?"

I don't recognise the voice, so I turn my head to see who it is. One of the scouts that the coaches introduced earlier is sitting there, smiling at me. "Hi," he says. "Your coach told me you're Adam Henderson's sister. Alice, right?"

"That's me," I reply. I have no idea what he wants to ask about Adam, but I guess I could put in a good word for him.

"Got time for a chat?"

"Sure, but if you want to know about Adam, you should really be talking to him. Or Dad."

"It's not Adam I want to talk about. It's you."

"Oh."

The scout sticks out his hand. "John Waverly," he says.

I shake his hand. "Alice Henderson, but, you already know that."

He smiles. "I just wanted to ask you about what you said to the bowler out there in the eighteenth over."

"I just told him to bowl fuller."

"I see," he says. "That ball that got that last wicket. It jagged away quite a bit. Did you know that was going to happen?"

I shrug. "Maybe." I'm not sure how much I should tell the scout, because technically, what I did could be called cheating. Although I could argue it does come under the rules about pitch condition and every player has the right to inspect the pitch. It's just that no-one does when they're cement ones covered in fake grass. You just assume that they're all flat.

John chuckles. "Alice, I'm not interested in whether what you did was legal or not, I just want to know what you said."

I consider my options. Technically, it's not a recognised match, so even if I was cheating, there aren't any sanctions. Besides, what would they do? Ban me from playing? "There's a spot out there, just past a good length, that not many people know about."

"Oh?"

"It's a little crack in the pitch that you can't see unless you're looking for it because the fake grass has covered it up."

John looks out over the field. "Is that right?"

"Yep."

"And you told your bowler to hit that crack? Is that it?"

"Pretty much," I reply. I'm still not exactly sure where this is going, but I'm in deep enough now anyway so I keep going. "There's another one, a bit shorter on the leg side around middle and leg, that if you hit it with a slower ball, it stays low. That one's harder to hit though and only really has an effect on lefties."

"I see," John says. He's got a weird sort of smile, like maybe he's impressed but not sure whether he should be. He doesn't ask any more questions, so I go back to getting my kit ready for my batting innings, even though I don't know where I am in the order yet.

Troy sits down on the bench on my other side. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt," he says. "I could really do with some help sorting out the batting order. Rory's on a high so he wants to open the batting and I can't talk him out of it."

"Just let me get changed and I'll be over," I reply.

Troy smiles. "Thanks."

John stands up. "I'll let you get back to it. I'm looking forward to seeing you bat."

I watch as he weaves his way around the seats and heads off to the big stand near the canteen. I quickly change my socks, pull my batting shoes on and head over to where Troy's talking to the rest of the team.

I pick up my batting gear and stand up.

Troy stands up beside me. "What did the scout want?" he asks.

"Just talking about the game."

"Asking about Adam?"

I shrug but don't answer. Instead I say, "We better get the order sorted. We might have to draw straws if no-one wants to go in first."

Troy laughs. "I hope not."