The Paul & Jenny Stories Pt. 17k: The Batting Order Ch. 11
Paul.
We all watched as the Ambulance left the field and turned left onto the main road to Taunton.
"Right Paul."
I turned my head at the sound of Jim's voice. He threw the cricket ball to me. I fumbled my catch and the ball dropped to my feet. I heard Jerry laugh.
"You finish the over off." Jim continued.
I didn't normally get a chance to bowl. My slow leg spinners were seen as too expensive in this type of limited over cricket. Still there was only four balls left in the over. Jim was bowling himself as the fifth bowler so it would have to be either me or Ron to do it. I had seen Roger and Bill bowling in the nets and Jim was wise not to throw the ball to one of those.
I bent and picked up the ball and helped Jim organise the fielders into their positions. Bowling from the back of the hand the natural spin imparted on the ball would take it away from a right-handed batsman. Occasionally, if the bowler were good, he could get the ball to spin back into the batsman. Normally I would bowl three or four balls spinning away from the batsman before trying to catch him off guard and try to spin it back. A batsman as good as Jerry would be expecting me to do that.
I turned away from the bowling crease and marked out the five paces of my run up. I turned and looked up. Jerry was crouched over his bat waiting. Steve was ready behind the stumps, all pads and gloves. Ron stood close beside him in a catching position.
I jogged in, brought my arm over and released the ball. It was going to pitch wide of the stumps. Jerry was watching it. The ball landed and spun back towards the stumps keeping low. Too late Jerry moved his bat to play it. The ball struck the outside edge of the offside stump knocking it back and dislodging the bails.
For a second there was silence.
Then there was the applause from the spectators. Loud applause. Then the back slapping from my team mates.
"Got him with a googly. First ball. Well bowled."
Jim was pumping my hand.
I wish Jenny had seen it.
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Jenny.
The lad nearest the door kicked it closed with his foot.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
"Come on." Larry said, placing his hand on Sally's hip. "We're just going to have some fun."
"Get your hand off me." Sally shrieked, slapping his hand away and joining us behind the bar.
I picked up a bottle of milk and Lynda did the same.
The three lads approached the bar. They were smiling.
"Bloody ball."
The door opened and Jerry stormed into the room slapping his bat against one of his pads.
The three lads turned from us and barged past him.
"See you later." Larry said over his shoulder.
"I should have gone out to meet it." Jerry continued, he was so full of his own problems he didn't seem to notice anything else. "It was wide."
The tension was slowly seeping from my body.
"You're out, are you?" Sally asked.
"Bloody ball." Jerry placed his boot on one of the chairs against the wall outside the away team's dressing room and started unbuckling his pads.
Sally walked from behind the bar and stood by his side resting her hand on his shoulder in a proprietary gesture. Lynda moved closer to me and placed a hand on one of my buttocks. My body tensed as she kneaded my flesh. Sally's hand rubbed across Jerry's shoulder blade and he looked up from unfastening his pad into her eyes. Lynda's fingers were pushing the seam of my jeans into the crevice between my buttocks.
There was another burst of applause from outside.