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wasn’t like that, Mum.’
    â€˜If you put the same amount of effort into your schoolwork as you do into cricket, you’d be top of your class!’
    â€˜Sorry, Mum. I did try but I fell asleep.’
    â€˜Aha!’ His mum pounced. ‘Fell asleep because you’re so tired from playing cricket every minute of the day. Well, that’s all stopping right now.’
    â€˜Er, what’s stopping?’
    â€˜Cricket. No more until you write the essay. I know you have a big game coming up, but you won’t be playing in it until the work is done.’
    â€˜But Mum!’ Davey wanted to explain about the bet and hitting six sixes, but he was worried it would make her even angrier.
    He was starting to think she might be right.
    His mum gave him some left-over corned beef and vegetables for dinner. He could barely lift the fork to his lips because he was so tired.
    â€˜Bed!’ said his mum, once he’d eaten.
    â€˜Bed,’ sighed Davey as he sank into his mattress.
    He stretched out his aching shoulders and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER 11
BEHIND THE SCENES
    Davey was finished.
    He looked back over his work from the last few days and felt a deep sense of pride. His arm muscles felt it too. He had worked all weekend and the social players’ bowling green was now perfectly rolled.
    Trevor clapped him on the back. ‘I think you deserve a break.’
    Inside the club, Trevor bought Davey a club lunch and a lemonade. They sat together at a window table and looked out over the green.
    â€˜I heard a rumour that you used to look after cricket pitches,’ said Davey before gulping down some lemonade.
    Trevor chuckled. ‘For most of my life.’
    â€˜Did you ever play?’ Davey asked.
    â€˜As a kid I did, but later I liked watching more. I’ve seen lots of the big games. But I like the behind-the-scenes stuff better.’
    The bartender brought their meals over and there was silence while they both tucked intohamburgers and chips. Davey realised he was ravenous.
    â€˜So how’s Mr Mudge going, or should I call him Mudge?’
    Davey rolled his eyes and finished chewing a mouthful of chips.
    â€˜He’s on my case. I’ve got to hand in an essay tomorrow about lawn bowls and I don’t know where to begin.’
    â€˜Why don’t you write about what you’ve learned working here?’
    â€˜Gardening?’
    â€˜How to prepare a pitch for play. It’s the same with cricket. As a player, you have to learn how to read the pitch. Someone has meticulously prepared that piece of grassto be level and the moisture of the soil has to be just right or cracks appear. What happens if a crack appears and you bowl or hit a ball onto it?’
    Davey thought about the question. ‘The ball could go in a direction different from where you expect it to.’
    Trevor nodded. ‘Exactly! So, in order to read a pitch or a bowling green properly, you need to learn how to maintain it. In bowls as in cricket, the condition of the grass affects the path and speed of the ball.’
    Trevor had a point. Davey knew about the pitch affecting his game, but he’d always been rubbish at turning it to his advantage.
    â€˜If you can read a pitch correctly, then you might just be one step ahead of your mate Josh Jarrett.’
    Davey realised for the first time that there might just be something to the game of lawn bowls.
    â€˜Want me to show you how to play bowls properly?’
    Davey nodded.
    Once they had finished their meal, Trevor collected a bag from the storage shed and took it with him out to the green. He unzipped it and pulled out two beautifully polished bowls. He handed one to Davey.
    â€˜You already know the bowl is shaped so that it will roll in a curved direction. Now, I know this green very well and I know that it’s slightly uneven – it sinks a little lower in the left corner – so I’ll keep that in