Aussies vs England: Game on by Mitchell Starc

Ill. by Philip Bunting. Mighty Mitchell series. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781742763194
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Cricket. Humour. Sport. School. Mitchell stares down the pitch at the incoming fast bowler. He has been told by the captain that everything depends upon him and he gives it his best shot. But the chanting of his name, Mitchell, is not from the huge crowd he imagines in the stadium, but his next door neighbour, Mr Nguyen who has again had a ball hit over his fence. Brought back to reality, Mitchell retrieves his ball and faces his mum.
Full of humour, the story evolves with Mitchell at the centre of this story, winning the readers with an easily read and absorbed story while educating them about cricket.
Cricketer, Mitchell Starc has turned his hand at a new field, that of writing for children with a series of children's books about something he knows intimately, cricket.
The team, Wander Hill Wombats, is inclusive and each child is given a page of information, just like the team members during television coverage of cricket matches. Each practice reveals new words associated with the game, within the work the children and their coach do, ensuring the readers will learn these words and what they mean with ease. Readers will learn of the importance of the coach and his role, the importance of practice and team involvement, and learn how to score.
When the Wombats must play another team, the Barkley Blues from the Barkleyshire College, then tactics must be discussed and of course, Mitchell saves the day.
This is a well written and presented story set within the rules and customs of cricket, ensuring a younger generation will learn to love the sport and be involved with a sound basis of cricket knowledge. Fran Knight