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At the nursing home, I wait until we’ve all finished dinner before I pull out the letter. It arrived yesterday, two weeks after the State Champs finished. I could tell what it was by the logo on the envelope and I wanted to wait until we were all together before I opened it. I’ve received a few letters and emails in the last couple of weeks, mostly from clubs in Brisbane, asking if I have plans to move down to the city next year. I haven’t made up my mind yet, and I want to talk to Jazz about that before I make my decision.
This one, though, will tell me if I’ve made the State side. Dad rubs his hands together. “Oooh, exciting.”
“Open it,” Mum says.
“What if it’s bad news?” I ask.
“You won’t know if you don’t open it,” Dad says.
I swallow hard and glance at Nan. She rolls her eyes and snatches the envelope off of me.
“For goodness sakes,” she says as she rips it open. She pulls out the letter and scans it.
“What does it say?” Dad asks.
My heart’s in my mouth.
“I need my glasses,” Nan says.
I let out a nervous breath. Mum hands Nan her glasses and then we all wait, again, while Nan reads over the letter.
“Great tournament, blah, blah,” Nan reads.
“Nan!”
“Okay, okay,” Nan laughs. She looks up at me and smiles. “I’m so proud of you.”
***
I haven’t spoken to Jazz since the last day of State, and I really want her advice, so I go to work early the next morning, just to talk to her.
When I get there, Jazz is chatting to Mick. She excuses herself and beckons me to her office.
“Nice write-up last week,” she says, nodding to a chair. I sit in it, and she sits behind her desk.
“Thanks,” I reply. Warren Simmons has written two articles about the tournament since it finished, both of them mentioning me. It still feels weird seeing my name in the paper, but there’s one good thing about it. I get to cut them out and save them to show Adam when he’s home.
“Have you heard about the State squad yet?” Jazz asks.
“Yep,” I reply.
“And?”
I scrunch up my nose. “I made shadow squad.”
“That’s a great result in your first year,” Jazz says, smiling.
“I guess.” It’s hard to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I really thought I’d done enough to make the State team.
Jazz chuckles and shakes her head. “Alice, I know you have high expectations for yourself, but you’re exactly where you need to be.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” Jazz replies with a nod. “Speaking of being right where I need to be, I’ve just been doing a handover with Mick. I’m leaving for the Gold Coast on the weekend to start my coaching job, and Mick’s going to manage the centre while I’m gone.”
“Oh,” I say. I wasn’t expecting Jazz to be gone so soon. “Will you be back?”
“Off and on,” Jazz says. “I’ve got a team to help build, so I need to go down a couple of months early.”
“Well, you know, I’m looking for a team,” I say, grinning.
Jazz lifts an eyebrow. “We’ll see. For now, have some time away from the game. Off seasons are a thing for a reason.”
“My rep coach said the same thing,” I reply.
“Your rep coach sounds pretty smart,” Jazz says.
“So... when do you think you’ll be picking your team?”
Jazz smiles and lets out a breath. “We’ve already started. There were a few interesting prospects from the State Champs we’re looking closely at, and some from interstate.”
I can’t help myself. “Am I one of them?”
Jazz smiles. “You’ve got a long way to go yet, Alice.”
My heart sinks. “So I’m not good enough?”
“You’ve got a lot to learn yet,” Jazz says. She leans back in her chair. “I hope to be the one to help you, Alice, but the truth is, that’s going to be up to you in the end.”
“Why me?”
“Because,” Jazz says. “I have a feeling that the more cricket you play, the better you’re going to get, and the more coaches are going to be interested. My advice? Don’t accept the first offer you get.”
“Even if it’s from you?” I ask.
“Even if it’s from me,” Jazz replies.
I guess now is the time to show Jazz why I’m here. I pull the letters from my backpack and fan them out on Jazz’s desk. Jazz might not be ready to pick me in her team, but some of the teams in Brisbane are. “Can I get some advice?”
Jazz looks over the stack of letters, and rubs her chin. “You’re going to have to make that decision sooner rather than later, by the looks of things.”
Even though cricket season doesn’t officially start again for another five months, I have some offers for some short tournaments in Brisbane over winter. Two teams have invited me to train with them in their pre-season, and I got an email from the State Director of Coaching telling me how impressed they were with my tournament. But the most exciting letter came from the coach of the Brisbane Cutters, who said they were keeping an eye on me for their rookie program next summer.
Whatever I decide, and wherever I end up, one thing is for certain. I’m going to be playing a lot more cricket than I ever thought possible.