Debutants take contrasting paths to Baggy Green

Both were prodigies whose cricketing potential was identified at a young age.

One grew up dreaming of donning the Baggy Green, for the other, the thought never even crossed her mind.

Kim Garth and Phoebe Litchfield on Thursday became the 182nd and 183rd women respectively to play Test cricket for Australia, capped in Baggy Green at Trent Bridge shortly before the toss in the red-ball match of this multi-format Ashes series.

For Litchfield, it was a coronation that many have considered inevitable since the prodigiously talented 20-year-old first attracted the eye of NSW scouts in her teens – and certainly since scoring a fifty aged 16 in just her second WBBL match in 2019.

Fittingly, it was her former Sydney Thunder captain Alex Blackwell – who Litchfield shared a 97-run stand with in that breakthrough Big Bash game – who presented the Orange product with her Baggy Green.

"I remember having a knock off Weet-Bix (Baggy Green) when I was about eight or something and I used to wear it," Litchfield told cricket.com.au after play.

"So to actually have the real thing in our hands and on our heads, it was pretty cool. I'm keen to wear it out on the field tomorrow."

Garth grew up in a cricketing family with parents who both played for Ireland, but had barely entered her teens when she debuted at that level herself, playing her first international game against New Zealand in 2010 aged 14.

It was the right-armer's brave call to move across the world in 2020 in pursuit of a professional contract with Victora that ultimately opened the door to playing cricket for her adopted county; and Thursday's Baggy Green rounded out a trio of debuts for her across the three formats in the past seven months.

Both Garth and Litchfield had their families in attendance as they were presented with their caps, the latter's having made the long journey halfway around the world to Nottingham, the former's a simpler skip across the Irish sea.

Australian great Mel Jones praised that "unique and tenacious journey" when presenting Garth with her cap, and the quick admitted after play she was relieved Alyssa Healy elected to bat first for the sake of her nerves.

"It's funny, 'Midge' (Healy) asked me when we were sitting on the bus, 'Did you ever think you'd get a Baggy Green?'," Garth told cricket.com.au.

"And I said, 'Never in a million years did I even dream of it'.

"So it's a pretty crazy story and even if I play no more Tests after this or if I play another 10, it's something I can be really proud of and it's something I'll always have.

"Even the men in Ireland didn't start playing Test cricket until three or four years ago so (playing) longer format cricket wasn't something I ever really thought about."

CommBank Ashes Tour of the UK 2023

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

England Test squad: Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver-Brunt (vc), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt

Test: June 22-26 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 11am local (8pm AEST)

First T20I: July 1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, 6.35pm (3.35am July 2 AEST)

Second T20I: July 5 at The Oval, London, 6.35pm (3.35am July 6 AEST)

Third T20I: July 8 at Lord’s, London, 6.35pm (3.35am July 9 AEST)

First ODI: July 12 at The County Ground, Bristol, 1pm (10pm AEST)

Second ODI: July 16 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, 11am (7pm AEST)

Third ODI: July 18 at The County Ground, Taunton, 1pm (10pm AEST)