The summer sport was always cricket, and being selected at the bottom of the order was fine by me, I was happy to play anywhere and do my part in the field. One game we had a middle order slump and I was soon rushing to gets my pads, helmet and bat to get out into the middle. With a few over's remaining our P.E teacher told me to just bash it around.
The bowler came in and bowled it outside leg stump, I swung my bat and it hit! A four! I don't know who was more shocked, me the bowler or my P.E teacher. It was my first boundary in cricket. But I struggled to keep my face straight to show how excited I was. My next shot I ran for a quick two, another four. In the next over I shot yet another four and with the final ball of our innings I cracked a six straight over the bowlers head. Twenty runs in eight balls faced! It was quite unexpected. Still we had to bowl out the other team, if we failed, this would of have been all for nothing.
Well midway through our fielding innings our captain tossed me the ball to have a bowl. So I went to the crease and bowled my usual right-arm off break. Within three over's of bowling I had taken two wickets for fourteen runs and we had won the match.
After the game our P.E teacher told us all that I had received the man of the match and will be batting top of the order in the next game. How nervous I was to stand on the crease at the next game and see the bowler come screaming in firing the cherry leather ball at my wicket. I managed a noble one before getting lbw and returning back to the sideline. I was subsequently returned back to my spot on the lower order which was fine by me as I often read a book while waiting for my turn at the crease.
It was a very unexpected rise and if you would have said that I would score 20 runs and bowl 2/14 in a game I would have said it was impossible, but as the Bible says "Nothing is Impossible with God"
Christopher Archibald lives in Sydney and is an under-graduate student.
Christopher's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/christopher-archibald.html