IT WAS JUST after Christmas 2019 when Kim Garth bid farewell to her friends and family. The plan was to spend two months playing cricket in Australia and then return home. She has not been back since.
The Dubliner is the only overseas player contracted to play professionally with Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League. Within the space of a week, she realised her dream of becoming a full-time professional cricketer and had her return flight cancelled as the country closed their borders.
The highs and lows of professional sport perfectly encapsulated in seven days.
Such upheaval would impair many typical 24-year-olds, but she is not typical. Garth is a veteran, navigating such obstacles for over 10 years. She was just 14 when she played for Ireland against New Zealand in July 2010. At the time it set a record as the youngest Irishwoman to debut.
From that year on she toured with the team across the globe. It instilled an early independence and resolve that stands to her still.
“It was just so weird. ‘Yes, finally I have a two-year contract. This is so exciting but if I go home now, what happens?’ Back then we still did not know the enormity of the situation. The borders were closed and there was talk it was going to be six months.
“I knew preseason started in June. Six months from March is September so I didn’t want to miss out on all that. It fell into place for me to stay and sort out visas.”
Garth’s father, Jonathan, and mother, Ann-Marie, both played cricket for Ireland. It is no surprise she grew up with the capacity to also represent her country and an appetite for heights that it could not satiate. Several summers were spent playing premier cricket in Melbourne, as well as WBBL cricket in Sydney and Perth.
As she rose through the Irish ranks, her ability quickly became apparent. Soon she became one of six contract Irish players. It was part-time but all that was possible. Not necessarily a lingering grievance because they didn’t fully comprehend the world beyond that.
When that realisation dawned, it hit like a train. Garth references the 2018 T20 World Cup loss against Pakistan and captain Laura Delany’s powerful interview subsequently. A surge of frustration.
“We always knew we wanted to be full-time, but it wasn’t something we dwelled on too much. It wasn’t like poor us; we aren’t professional.
“It was only when we got to those tournaments and played against the best teams in the world you could see the big difference in players in full-time professional setups. We were the only team in that competition who were not professional in any way. It is only when you see the drastic difference in it that you see it is an uphill battle.
“It is a vicious circle; a professional team gets better and better. The best sides don’t want to play weaker sides. They want a challenge, so the best keep getting better and the gap widens.”
Experiences like that fuelled an understanding within the Irish cricket community when she announced her decision. Universal awareness that this was an opportunity too good to turn down. The Australians looked and saw an extreme talent with all-round batting and bowling in her early 20s. Garth had ambitions to operate in the top tier. The timing suited everyone.
She has applied for permanent Australian residency and Ireland have already confirmed they will not stand in her way.
“Everyone was really lovely. I didn’t have a single bad message. I am sure a few questioned the decision, but I didn’t hear from one. All the girls were fully understanding which made it a lot easier for me. I appreciated that.”
Her sporting upbringing orientated around soccer and cricket. In primary school she began to play Gaelic football. After showing promise there, she was approached by a Kilmacud Crokes local. Did she want to start playing with a club?
By 2014 she was a Dublin minor, on a team alongside current intercounty star Lauren Magee. When Irish cricket coach Trent Johntson asked her to play in the that season’s Twenty20 World Cup, she opted to stay with Dublin and finish her Leaving Cert.
Around then she realised balancing the two was not going to be feasible. Another big decision had to be made. She chose cricket. This was based on passion rather than profession. The prospect of a fulltime career in any code never even crossed her mind.
“Growing up in my teenage years, I never thought I was going to do this professionally. It wasn’t even in the pipeline for the women’s team to have a contract. It was only when they introduced part-time contracts and I came over here to play club cricket.
“I saw some of the girls who were part of the squad, how they trained and played cricket for a living. I realised that is what I wanted to do. They have a pretty good life and I suppose even though there was part-time at home, it was one or two days a week.
“Seeing the set-up over here and just how much further along it is in terms of cricket and women’s sport generally, the professional programmes in place are amazing. It was only three or four years ago that I could actually see a future in full-time professional sport.
“Australia is ahead of the game. Not just cricket. AFLW, soccer, all female sports really.”
Should her visa application be successful, Garth will become a local player. This is simpler for future contracts and makes her eligible to one day represent the Baggy Greens.
For now, the only focus is navigating preseason. The season starts in September and Big Bash cricket, the Twenty20 competition where each team has three overseas players, comes after. The prospect of representing a new country is off on the horizon.
“Honestly, I can’t put too much thought into it. I have only just applied for permanent residency. I’m really enjoying being part of the domestic competition.
“Not seeing family is the only downside. I have loved my first year. I am pretty happy with how it went and how I played, which helps. If I had a shocking season, it would be very different. I am playing with a lovely group, really nice group of girls and a super squad to be part of. It is going well.
“I certainly don’t regret the decision anyway.”
