The Final Over
A backyard cricket story about winning and kindness, with eight questions on language, evidence and what a character really wants.
Read the passage
The sun was sinking behind the Hills hoist, and the backyard cricket match had reached its final over. The scores were level, and the whole family had gathered on the verandah to watch. Mitch gripped the tennis ball so tightly that his fingers ached.
At the other end, his cousin Layla stood with her bat raised and her eyes narrowed like a hawk’s. She had been batting for an hour, and nobody had managed to get her out. Last summer, Mitch would have been furious about it. Today, something felt different.
He ran in and bowled. The ball bounced once, twice, and skidded past the old wheelie bin. Layla swung and missed. Mitch’s heart leapt. “One more ball like that,” he thought, “and the game is mine.”
He bowled again. This time, Layla stepped forward and smacked the ball high into the air. It sailed over the fence and landed with a crash in Mrs Kowalski’s tomato patch. For a moment, nobody moved. Then Layla’s face crumpled. “Oh no,” she whispered. “Those were her best tomatoes.”
“Over the fence is out,” said Mitch. Those were the rules, and everybody knew it. He could have thrown his arms in the air and declared himself the winner. But he looked at the squashed tomatoes, and at Layla’s trembling hands, and the words he wanted did not come. “Best game ever,” he said instead. “Let’s call it a draw.”
Layla stared at him. Then, slowly, she grinned. “Come on,” said Mitch. “We’ll fix the garden. And then we’re both apologising.”
Mrs Kowalski, it turned out, was not angry at all. She laughed so hard that she had to lean on her fence, and then she handed them a bag of tomatoes. “Next time,” she said, her eyes twinkling, “aim for the neighbours who don’t grow tomatoes.”
Answer the questions
- What was the score at the start of the final over? (1 mark)
- The text says Mitch “would have been furious.” What does “furious” mean? (1 mark)
- The writer says Layla’s eyes were “narrowed like a hawk’s.” What does this comparison suggest about how she was batting? (2 marks)
- The writer says, “Last summer, Mitch would have been furious about it. Today, something felt different.” What do you think had changed for Mitch? Use evidence from the story. (2 marks)
- Quote the sentence that shows Mitch had a chance to claim victory. Use quotation marks. (2 marks)
- Why did Mitch call the game a draw? Use evidence from the story. (2 marks)
- Do you think Mitch made a good decision? Explain your view, using the story. (2 marks)
- Write a summary of the story in two sentences. Include what happened and how Mitch changed. (2 marks)
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. The scores were level (a tie). (1 mark)
Finding information. A detail to find in the first paragraph.
2. Extremely angry. (1 mark)
Word meaning. Working out a word from its context.
3. She was focused, alert and determined, watching the ball very closely, like a hawk watching its prey. (2 marks)
Language choices. Understanding what a simile suggests, not just spotting it.
4. Winning no longer mattered as much as other people’s feelings. Evidence: he looked at the squashed tomatoes and Layla’s trembling hands and chose a draw. (2 marks)
Inference. The writer hints at a change in a character but does not explain it, so the child works it out.
5. “He could have thrown his arms in the air and declared himself the winner.” (2 marks)
Quoting from the text. Copying the exact sentence that proves a point.
6. He saw that Layla was upset about the tomatoes, so being kind mattered more to him than winning. He looked at her “trembling hands” and the words he wanted “did not come”. (2 marks)
Inference. Linking a character’s choice to evidence in the text.
7. Any reasoned view supported by the story, for example: yes, because he kept the friendship and helped fix the problem, and Mrs Kowalski was not angry. (2 marks)
Giving a view with evidence. Giving an opinion and supporting it with evidence.
8. One point for the main event (Layla hit the ball into the neighbour’s tomatoes in the final over); one for the result (Mitch put kindness ahead of winning, called a draw, and helped fix the garden). (2 marks)
Summarising. A summary keeps the main events and the change in a character.
What this practises
Finding information, Word meaning, Language choices, Inference, Quoting from the text, Giving a view with evidence, Summarising. This sheet links to Comprehension Strategies (AC9E5LY05). Schools and states deliver the Australian Curriculum (version 9) in different ways, so check what your child's school uses. Marks and answers are a guide: accept any sensible answer that is backed up by the text.
Now try the writing task
Write the next scene: Mitch and Layla knock on Mrs Kowalski’s door. What happens?
Aim for eight to twelve sentences. Read it back aloud together and fix anything that does not sound right.
Want feedback on your child's own writing?
You mark the worksheet yourself with the answer key. LiteracyLab AI is different: it reads what your child has written and gives specific feedback, such as what worked, one thing to try next, and a corrected version, matched to their year. The Free plan includes 3 pieces a month and needs no card.
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