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Ireland Women came through a dramatic County Championships tie in Essex on Sunday with Kim Garth the star scoring 49 not out and with the bat and 3-20 with the ball as Ireland won by 13 runs.
The day started well with Isobel Joyce winning the toss and electing to bat, Cecelia Joyce (8) and Shauna Kavanagh (12) starting in the sunshine for Ireland.

The pair saw off the threatening opening bowlers, but then fell in quick succession in the 13 and 14th overs respectively. That started a chain reaction in the top order with both Joyce sisters, Kate McKenna (2), Gaby Lewis (16) and Elena Tice (3) all falling victim to Hannah Jeffery who ended with figures of 5-19 from her ten overs.

Garth proved the catalyst for a recovery after the top six had been disappointing allowing Ireland to slip to 63-8 before the Pembroke all-rounder had even got off the mark. She forged two key partnerships with Amy Kenealy (7) and Jenny Gray (11) on her way to her 49, taking control and ensuring Ireland posted what turned out to be a winning score.

Garth (3-20) and Kenealy (3-17) shared the wickets as Essex struggled towards their target of 140, but the key bowling performance came from Laura Delany who bowled with control and precision to restrict scoring and apply pressure at key moments allowing others to take wickets.

With the match hanging in the balance and Essex needing 19 to win from the final 19 balls Jennifer Gray was handed a golden opportunity to win the game for Ireland, but she misjudged the flight of the ball and dropped what could have been a crucial catch.

With momentum firmly with Essex and Gray starting a new over the home support were confident of getting the win even with nine wickets down. But Gray was determined not to be affected by her drop and made no mistake second time around, taking a caught and bowled to ensure Ireland won by 13 runs. Here’s what Kim Garth had to say after the match.