Pincers of death - Toby Frost

The empire of the ant-people is beginning to crumble. As the British Space Navy prepares to invade the Ghast homeworld, the Secret Service comes up with a daring plan - the assassination of Number One, the small and furious dictator of the Ghasts. Only one man has the qualities needed to take on a job this dangerous - Captain Isambard Smith.
But Smith has problems of his own. Captured by the ruthless - and gormless - Criminarch of Radishia, Smith and his crew must survive the deadly sport of Hyperbowl, where it's not whether you win or lose that counts, but how you slay the game.
Now Smith faces his toughest challenge yet. In order to civilise the galaxy, he will have to win a ball game, topple a dictator and organise a party for a four-year-old. All in a day's work for a hero of the British Space Empire - although it's going to be a very busy day indeed.