Cooper Bell's dream to play in a state cricket team on the national stage was beyond his family's financial reach. So with his parents' help, the then ten-year-old switched on the same grit and tenacity that helps him shine on the pitch. LAURA TURNER reports.

IN the baking heat, out the back of Gol Gol, mower blades chop and slash through the grass, whipping up a storm like saws in a mill.