Cricket was the Winner

A heart-warming short story that will make us laugh and cry, and remind us why the little things in our lives are so important, from one of Australia's best-loved writers, William McInnes. Lachlan and his dad head down to the oval for the under-twelves cricket game, as they do most Saturdays in the season; it's part of their routine. Lachlan hopes he'll get some runs. His dad is happy to stand on the sidelines with the other cricket parents, drink coffee and cheer the team on.
But this weekend, the other team's umpire had to work, so Lachlan's dad has to do the boys a favour and stand in out in the middle. He also hopes his son will gets some runs as he umpires the under-twelves, but most of all, he wants Lachlan to do his best by the game and walk tall at the end of the day, knowing that cricket was the winner.