News

Ahead of next month’s tour of Zimbabwe, which sees Ireland’s women play three 50 Over matches and five T20s, Isobel Joyce and Kim Garth face double headers in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia this weekend.
Two of four Irish squad members plying their trade Down Under this winter, Joyce, with the Hobart Hurricanes, and Garth, with Sydney Sixers, have played with and against some of the best cricketers in the world.

Garth is playing in her second season for the Sixers after stepping in to the side and playing a starring role at the end of last season. This season, Garth has played 10 matches taking 8 wickets with a best of 2-15.

Her Sydney Sixers are second in the table heading into the final weekend of the round robin matches. They face Adelaide Strikers in both of their matches and while theoretically they could still miss out on a place in the top four play-offs, it is highly unlikely they won’t have a semi-final to look forward to.

It hasn’t been such a successful season for the Hobart Hurricanes who sit at the bottom of the WBBL table. Isobel Joyce has however stepped in as skipper in recent matches after Corinne Hall got injured.

On January 15th Joyce captained the Hurricanes to their only victory of the season when they overcame the Melbourne Renegades by 4 runs. Last weekend, an unbeaten half century (52) from 47 deliveries was unfortunately not enough to see the Hurricanes home against Perth Scorchers who had Australia international Elyse Villani in equally outstanding form.

This weekend Joyce and the Hurricanes conclude their WBBL season with two matches against the Melbourne Stars with both taking place at Melbourne Cricket Ground. It is a fine way for Joyce to sign off on her time in Australia before linking up with the Irish squad, captaining her side at the world famous MCG.

Garth on the other hand will look to repeat last season’s victory in the competition before meeting up with her Irish teammates in Zimbabwe.


Kim Garth celebrating with the Sydney Sixers
No
Connaught