'I’ve been able to stay in the sport and enjoy it more' - one-day contract makes big difference in hectic schedule
A one-day contract with Cricket Ireland has allowed Shauna Kavanagh to keep her sporting dream alive, balancing it with her full-time and part-time jobs.
A lot has changed since then, one huge milestone coming in 2019 when Cricket Ireland introduced its first part-time professional contracts for women.
Kavanagh, of Pembroke CC and Scorchers, is one grateful recipient of such in 2021, on a one-day contract while working full-time elsewhere four days-a-week and part-time along with her fiancé, Dale, in his business , GM By Choice — a landscape management company specialising in sportsgrounds.
“For one week day I can fully commit to cricket,” she explained at the launch of the Women’s Arachas Super Series 2021. “I know that seems small, but it makes such a big difference.
“You can get a really heavy [training] day done on your contracted day and that frees up two evenings, or a morning and an evening so you’re not training every single morning, every single evening and playing at the weekend as well.
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“A couple of the other girls would be on two-day contracts and it all depends because everyone’s circumstances are different. It’s so hard to explain when you haven’t been on the other side of it and you have been fully committed to cricket your whole life – it’s normal to you in the sense that you’re getting up early in the morning, your evenings are gone, you don’t go on holidays in the summer, all your annual leave is used for cricket.
That’s normal and you’re used to it and then when the part-time contracts were implemented it was just such a relief to have better work-sport-life balance.
“That’s so important, including from the mental side, and it has made a huge difference because it has allowed me to commit for longer and I’ve been able to stay in the sport and enjoy it a lot more than I was before.”
The 29-year-old wicketkeeper and middle-order batswoman says her employers are more than happy with the set-up; “phenomenal” in every way.
“They were delighted to be able to assist and happy that I had been given that opportunity. They wanted me to stay as well, so it made for a really easy transition and I’m very lucky. I’m very grateful as well.”
The implementation of part-time contracts on these shores is “such a positive step for cricket and hopefully that’s going to grow over the years,” she says, one of many recent “good news stories” over the last few years.
Women's Arachas Super Series player, Shauna Kavanagh of Scorchers in Merrion Cricket Club, Dublin, at the official launch of the Women’s Arachas Super Series 2021. David Fitzgerald / SPORTSFILE
David Fitzgerald / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE
But the team, like many others, have been stopped in their tracks by the pandemic, having now played an international match since September 2019, with several tours cancelled in between.
“It has been really tough,” she concedes. “We’ve been really unlucky and it’s tough on all of us. There’s only so long you can keep training without games, but the girls should be admired for how much they’ve put in to cricket and stayed with it because it hasn’t been easy.
“Hopefully that’s going to change and we’re going to get a bit of international cricket in this summer. I think the Irish squad is a funny place in that we’ve lost some of our older players and there’s a wealth of new talent coming in.
“They haven’t been able to showcase themselves on the world stage yet, but I’m really excited to see those girls in the international arena. I think we’re really in a good place and we’re looking forward to getting going again.”
For now, all focus is on the Arachas Super Series — Ireland’s peak women’s domestic cricket competition. “A really good thing,” Kavanagh nods.
“It’s obviously our transition from club cricket to international and since Covid came there has been a lot of focus on this tournament,” she concludes.
“Players are putting in performances and working really hard to make sure those performances are coming through, which can only be a positive for our international set-up because there’s a bigger pool of players putting their hands up to be selected.”
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'I’ve been able to stay in the sport and enjoy it more' - one-day contract makes big difference in hectic schedule
IT’S EXACTLY 10 years ago since Shauna Kavanagh made her Ireland debut.
On this day in 2011, a fresh-faced 19-year-old scored 17 runs as the Irish women’s cricket team beat the Netherlands by one run.
A lot has changed since then, one huge milestone coming in 2019 when Cricket Ireland introduced its first part-time professional contracts for women.
Kavanagh, of Pembroke CC and Scorchers, is one grateful recipient of such in 2021, on a one-day contract while working full-time elsewhere four days-a-week and part-time along with her fiancé, Dale, in his business , GM By Choice — a landscape management company specialising in sportsgrounds.
“For one week day I can fully commit to cricket,” she explained at the launch of the Women’s Arachas Super Series 2021. “I know that seems small, but it makes such a big difference.
“You can get a really heavy [training] day done on your contracted day and that frees up two evenings, or a morning and an evening so you’re not training every single morning, every single evening and playing at the weekend as well.
“A couple of the other girls would be on two-day contracts and it all depends because everyone’s circumstances are different. It’s so hard to explain when you haven’t been on the other side of it and you have been fully committed to cricket your whole life – it’s normal to you in the sense that you’re getting up early in the morning, your evenings are gone, you don’t go on holidays in the summer, all your annual leave is used for cricket.
“That’s so important, including from the mental side, and it has made a huge difference because it has allowed me to commit for longer and I’ve been able to stay in the sport and enjoy it a lot more than I was before.”
The 29-year-old wicketkeeper and middle-order batswoman says her employers are more than happy with the set-up; “phenomenal” in every way.
“They were delighted to be able to assist and happy that I had been given that opportunity. They wanted me to stay as well, so it made for a really easy transition and I’m very lucky. I’m very grateful as well.”
The implementation of part-time contracts on these shores is “such a positive step for cricket and hopefully that’s going to grow over the years,” she says, one of many recent “good news stories” over the last few years.
But the team, like many others, have been stopped in their tracks by the pandemic, having now played an international match since September 2019, with several tours cancelled in between.
“It has been really tough,” she concedes. “We’ve been really unlucky and it’s tough on all of us. There’s only so long you can keep training without games, but the girls should be admired for how much they’ve put in to cricket and stayed with it because it hasn’t been easy.
“Hopefully that’s going to change and we’re going to get a bit of international cricket in this summer. I think the Irish squad is a funny place in that we’ve lost some of our older players and there’s a wealth of new talent coming in.
“They haven’t been able to showcase themselves on the world stage yet, but I’m really excited to see those girls in the international arena. I think we’re really in a good place and we’re looking forward to getting going again.”
For now, all focus is on the Arachas Super Series — Ireland’s peak women’s domestic cricket competition. “A really good thing,” Kavanagh nods.
“It’s obviously our transition from club cricket to international and since Covid came there has been a lot of focus on this tournament,” she concludes.
“Players are putting in performances and working really hard to make sure those performances are coming through, which can only be a positive for our international set-up because there’s a bigger pool of players putting their hands up to be selected.”
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busy flat out shauna kavanagh woman at work