Pluck of the Irish: Garth's unlikely road to Aussie squad

The last time Kim Garth played international cricket in India, she was representing Ireland in a T20 World Cup and Australia were her opponents.

Memorably, she bowled Australian captain Meg Lanning for eight.

This time, Garth is headed to India as part of the Australian squad, with a red-hot chance of making an international debut for a second country.

The 26-year-old got the call from national selector Shawn Flegler last Thursday as the Melbourne Stars were making their way back to Victoria from Latrobe in north-west Tasmania.

It was not completely out of the blue; there had been previous discussions around the fact she would become eligible to play for Australia in September, and she had submitted her passport for an India visa as part of an extended group of ‘players of interest’ last month.

There had also been talk of a spot in the Australia A side that played England A last summer, but that did not come to fruition.

Nonetheless, Garth was surprised and delighted to learn she had made the final 15 for this tour, having felt this WBBL season, which saw her claim 12 wickets at 25, had not yielded the rewards she had hoped for after taking 15 wickets at 18 the previous year.

"I knew I was in the extended squad, but I had no idea how many people were in that," Garth told cricket.com.au on Tuesday.

"And then I suppose having had a reasonably quiet season in the Big Bash ... I felt like I bowled quite well, but I wasn't up to my usual standard (so) I was definitely very surprised but also really excited."

It is an opportunity Garth admits she dreamed about when she made the huge choice to walk away from playing for Ireland to move to Australia, but one that was never front of mind.

Rather, she simply wanted to pursue life as a professional, full-time cricketer, something Ireland could not offer at the time but a contract with Victoria could.

"I've been lucky enough to (make a living playing cricket) for the last two years," she said.

"I suppose (playing for Australia) does cross your mind as you get closer to that eligibility, and I feel like I've performed reasonably well in domestic cricket in the last two years.

"But I never really thought it was actually going to happen, so I'm incredibly excited.

"(A debut) would be incredibly special, it’s been a long journey and I've made a lot of sacrifices.

"It's been a particularly tough with COVID and not being able to see my family, so just to even be in the squad, I suppose that makes it all worthwhile."

Garth, whose mother played 12 ODIs for Ireland, took the field for the first of her 85 internationals for Ireland when she was just 14 years of age.

At the time, she was the youngest player male or female to play a T20 International, while last year she was named Ireland’s player of the decade.

The situation she now finds herself in as a potential 26-year-old Australian debutant could not be more different than when she first played for Ireland against New Zealand at a small club ground in Leicestershire in July 2010.

"It's worlds apart, in that I was 14 and at the time it was a very small talent pool in Ireland," Garth said.

"It was fun, I was thrown in the deep end a little bit.

"I loved playing for Ireland ... I'm incredibly grateful to Cricket Ireland for giving me that opportunity, and I got to travel some really cool places and made some really good friends along the way.

"But I'm at a very different stage of my career now and about to head away with probably the best team in the world.

"So they are very different feelings and debut tours."

 

Image Id: F7A77485F1B1434099805C481393CB4D Image Caption: Garth in action for Ireland in 2012 // Getty

 

Garth had her first taste of elite cricket in Australia eight years ago, when she joined Sydney Sixers as an associate rookie during the first edition of the WBBL in 2015-16.

The rookie program allocated an associate player to each club for a two-week stint, where they would get a taste of training alongside some of the world’s best players.

That went as expected in WBBL|01, but when Garth returned for a second stint at the Sixers a season later, she had barely disembarked the plane when she was told she would actually be making her debut in place of an injured Ellyse Perry.

She went on to play six matches, including their triumph over Perth Scorchers in the final.

 

Image Id: D10F278F265D487698FCCEA96078CB5B Image Caption: Garth won two WBBL titles with Sydney Sixers as an associate rookie // Getty

 

Garth then played the entire season when the Sixers went back-to-back in WBBL|03 as a local replacement player for an injured Lauren Cheatle, but she was prevented from returning the next summer after the ICC informed the club she was now too experienced to be considered an ICC rookie.

Instead, the Sixers would have needed to contract her as an overseas marquee player, but the club had no room on its list.

Her next shot came with Perth Scorchers in WBBL|05 in 2019-20, shortly before she made the call to move to Australia.

A full-time professional contract with Victoria was the major pull, but the chance to gain permanent residency, thus removing the need to battle it out for a hotly contested overseas marquee contract, was another lure.

Her move coincided with the onset of COVID, preventing Garth from being able to travel home and see her family until the end of the 2021-22 season.

But that sacrifice is now paying off big time; this season Garth was finally able to take the field as a local player for the Melbourne Stars after her residency status was confirmed.

It is a journey Garth spent time reflecting on over the weekend, while waiting for the news of her Australian selection to become public.

"I don't really know how to describe it, to be honest," she said.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind ... I remember coming over with the associate rookie thing and thinking I was just going to be there for two weeks to train and found out straight away I was playing.

"From there, playing a season and a half with the Sixers and just loving my time in Australia and thinking how I really wanted to do this for a living ... it's been a crazy and this is definitely this the icing on the cake."

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, national selector Shawn Flegler talked up Garth’s recent seasons with the ball, indicating she could be used as a new-ball option in India if Australia chose to rest Megan Schutt or Darcie Brown.

"It's a great opportunity for her to put a case forward for World Cup selection in the future and a great chance for her to be around the group and understand how the group operates," Flegler said.

"Her performances over the past few years have been really good.

"She's a new-ball option, but she's got a great change of pace as well, she's good in the field."

Australia's T20I tour of India 

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

December 9, D.Y. Patil Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 10, 12.30am AEDT) 

December 11, D.Y. Patil Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 12, 12.30am AEDT) 

December 14, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 15, 12.30am AEDT) 

December 17, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 18, 12.30am AEDT) 

December 20, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 21, 12.30am AEDT)