Spinner Read Online Free PDF Page A

grandfather nodded before leaving. David looked down at his hand around the ball moving his thumb backwards and forwards while feeling it push into the leather. Happy that he had a similar grip to his leggie, he stepped in to bowl. The ball was straight but it didn’t back spin at all. In fact, it simply bounced up and would have been hit into the grandstand. ‘Maybe even out of the ground,’ said David as he grabbed another old ball out of the box. He practised for another ten minutes before having to hurry for school.
    David wasn’t much interested in school and it didn’t seem to have much interest in him. When confronted with pen and chalk, his long fingers behaved with the sureness of the legs of a newborn calf. He wasn’t bad at ’rithmatic but just couldn’t make the spelling of words stick at all. His reading was awful. Even in a farming school, where most kids would be working at thirteen, David was a poor scholar. His dreaming didn’t help, said his teacher Mr Wallace.
    At lunchtime, Mr Wallace came up to where David was sitting on the edge of the oval watching the other kids play cricket. ‘Not good news, I’m afraid, David.’
    â€˜Worse than this morning sir?’
    â€˜All out for one hundred and twenty-three. And four for forty-nine.’
    â€˜Us or them?’
    â€˜They enforced the follow-on.’
    â€˜We’re getting killed sir.’
    â€˜They haven’t beaten us since 1912.’
    â€˜Until now.’
    â€˜You never know. Read on,’ said Mr Wallace with a half smile. He was offering the paper. It wouldn’t have today’s figures but the back pages were full of the first two days play. It was Mr Wallace’s way of getting David to read.
    David tried to read the story down the bottom because the word ‘Spinner’ had caught his eye. ‘Spinner Cause?’
    Mr Wallace must have already read it all because he nodded. ‘Spinner Curse. There’s a sports reporter named O’Toole who believes there is a curse on Australian spin bowlers. Hobbs fell off a horse and broke his arm.’
    â€˜Hobbs! He had a sore foot. He was nearly better wasn’t he?’
    â€˜Read the story and find out.’
    David sighed and pretended to read the news report while he considered Hobbs’ accident. Hobbs was past his prime but a clever and talented spin bowler. Australia could sure use him now as England seemed to fancy the fast bowlers.
    â€˜If you didn’t try so hard they’d let you play, you know?’
    When David looked up confused, his teacher pointed out to his classmates, including Nell, who were playing cricket during their lunch break. ‘It’s no fun for any of them if you just get them out with every ball.’
    â€˜Don’t try, sir?’
    â€˜Not so hard. Just with them. For the fun of the game.’
    â€˜I can’t, sir.’
    â€˜Of course you can. Toss some up so they can hit them.’
    â€˜Even if I want to, Mr Wallace, my fingers won’t let me. I’ve tried. When I come in to bowl my fingers take over and bowl properly no matter what I tell them.’
    David watched Mr Wallace looking at him with the kind of look he gave when he thought someone was lying about the spit ball on the blackboard. ‘Then you can’t blame them if they won’t let you play.’
    â€˜No, sir.’ David didn’t blame them, certainly not for the ban on him bowling and probably not for any lack of friendship either.
    â€˜You can keep that,’ said Mr Wallace, pointing at the newspaper. ‘Practise your reading. You might want to look at the falling wheat prices too.’
    â€˜Thank you, Mr Wallace,’ said David, watching his teacher mop the back of his neck under his hat as he went back inside. Mr Wallace was one of the people who David made especially irritable, like hot muggy weather or a fly that won’t stop going at your eyes. David