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Kim Garth pens her final installment from Hobart, where she spent the Christmas period with WBBL franchise Hobart Hurricanes.
Christmas Day was spent on the beach in thirty degree heat so was very different me for me this year. It was certainly a far cry from my usual Christmas routine.

After a few days off, the girls slowly filtered back to Hobart and training was in full swing in time for the three games on the first, second and third of January. There was great excitement around camp for the games especially the first one as it was being televised. It definitely didn’t bother the girls in the slightest as they won easily enough against a good Brisbane Heat side.

If ever there was a motivator to ensure I do absolutely everything I can to thrive at the top level, January 1st was it. It was amazing to be even sitting in the dug out and warming up with the girls. They played in front of a great crowd of 4,200 with hundreds of thousands watching on TV and then were signing autographs for an hour after the game. It’s great to think that there’s a possibility of that hopefully being something myself and the Irish girls could be doing in the future and to even get a taste of it for the day was amazing. The next few days went down hill for the Hurricanes losing their next three games.

I have been lucky enough to have access to all the facilities and coaching the girls have access to and so my weeks are filled with nets sessions, gym sessions and fielding sessions as well as sitting in on analysis meetings. I took the opportunity to do a few one on one sessions with head coach Julia Price (who will be Ireland’s assistant coach at the ICC World T20). It was back to basics for my batting but very productive all the same.

I managed to score 53 for my club Kingborough following the one on one sessions which was a huge confidence boost. It was also the start of a great weekend. Three of the girls brought me into the city on Saturday night which was a good laugh. Then on Sunday morning a big group of us went surfing with the Irish being represented well with myself, Mary Waldron and Una Raymond Hoey in attendance. It’s definitely harder than it looks as the waves were deceptively big but that didn’t stop us having great fun. We got to watch the men take on Sydney Thunder in the evening in a high scoring close game and a team meal concluded an action packed weekend.

My final week came around so fast. The girls had games in Sydney so I took the opportunity to see a bit of Sydney while also watching the girls play Sydney Thunder. I caught up with some of the Pembroke boys who are over in Sydney and we did some sight seeing. The weather was the only thing that disappointed as it rained for the majority of the three days I was there but really enjoyed the city. I was back in Hobart in time for club cricket where my runs unfortunately didn’t continue however I was delighted to claim the prize wicket of Mary Waldron in a low scoring affair. Sandy Bay Sharks chased down Kinborough Knights’ total of 58 for 8 wickets.

I spent my final day with the Hurricanes girls playing a round of golf followed by a team dinner. I cannot believe how fast the last six weeks have gone. It’s hard to believe I have been away for two months exactly, the time absolutely flew. I can’t thank the Hobart Hurricanes enough for a fantastic experience. I really had an amazing time and would like to congratulate them on a brilliant opening season in the WBBL.

I am now looking forward to getting back to the Irish set up in preparation for my first World T20. The exciting times continue!


Kim Garth with Ireland team mate Mary Waldron
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