Kim Garth, the Irish allrounder is among the list of 20 players who will be given Victoria contract for the Upcoming 2020-21 Australian women’s domestic season.
Garth, who has played 34 One-Day Internationals and 51 T20s, will join Victoria as an overseas recruit even if she applies for permanent Australian residency.
Garth has also represented Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers in Women’s Big Bash League.
Cricket Victoria’s general manager Shaun Graf said “ Kim Garth has played a lot of cricket within Australia in recent seasons and brings further international experience to the squad. She will play as an overseas player initially. However, she intends to apply for permanent residency allowing her the opportunity to hopefully one day play for Australia,”.
Kim is elated to Join Victoria as she expressed her happiness in detail, saying that it was not easy for her to leave Irish community and accept this offer,
“While I have accepted the offer, it was not an easy decision to make. To leave family, friends, and the whole Irish cricket community was a very difficult decision, and one I did not take lightly. However, my ambition has always been to be a full-time professional cricketer and to play at the highest level. A chance like this doesn’t present itself too often, so I am keen to seize this opportunity.”
She further added that “I will miss being part of the Irish squad, and indeed all the staff I have worked with at Cricket Ireland – I am very grateful and conscious of the opportunities afforded to me by Cricket Ireland over the years. But I have also learned a lot living and playing cricket in Australia and hope that, at some future time, I can bring this experience home and give back in some way.”.
Ed Joyce who is the current coach of Ireland Women’s team is not happy with her decision as she is one of their main players and if your main player is not playing for 2 years it becomes difficult to win in overseas conditions.
He said,
“This is a blow, there is no way around that. To lose one of your leading players anytime is a challenge, but I can understand Kim’s decision-making and she has been quite open with her ambitions.”.
He further added that “Ambition is a good thing, though – I want our players to be ambitious for Ireland and their careers. However, the reality is that it will take a few years for us to be in a position to offer our women cricketers full-time opportunities. We’re on that road like we did with the men’s contracts, but I am optimistic we will get there with patience and commitment.”
It can also be seen as the golden opportunity for the next generation of players to step forward and take responsibility for the squad and play a significant role in team building and take Ireland cricket to next level.
