While Irish all-rounder Eimear Richardson leads the way in equality for women cricketers in her home nation, she's also starring for the Northern Brave and helping Kiwi kids share her love for the game.
Eimear Richardson wishes she never had to ask ‘what if’.
One of many cricketers stuck trying to balance a full-time job with representing their country, the 35-year-old Irish all-rounder still wonders how different her career would have been had she had the chance of a professional contract earlier.
“I have no doubt that I would have been a better player much earlier,” says Richardson, who's lived in New Zealand since 2011 and has sometimes had to sacrifice game opportunities for her work commitments.
She still considers herself one of the fortunate ones - her full-time job as general manager community at Northern Districts, that she’s had since 2018, allows her to still play for both Ireland, Northern Districts and the Northern Brave.
“When you have the time and that headspace - like the headspace to really hone in and focus on your work, which is your game - it can do nothing but help you be better," she says.
In 2019, Cricket Ireland offered professional contracts for their women players for the first time, with six players receiving part-time contracts. That was due to the performances of the national team, which Richardson has been a part of since her ODI debut in 2005.
She holds the record for the best Irish bowling figures in an ODI, with 5-13 against the Netherlands in 2009. She also has the most T20I wickets, with 47 over a span of 14 years.
Richardson tries to make herself available for all big tournaments and qualifying events, but admits she can't always make the friendly fixtures with her work commitments in New Zealand.
Richardson is so grateful for the team at ND. “People often say ‘how do you manage being a full-time worker and an athlete?’ and it’s like 'well I don’t, my employer does'," she says.
“I’ve been so lucky to have such generous people who've allowed me to chase that dream.”
Having studied sports management at university, Richardson coached both hockey and cricket before moving into administration. It's a career that’s been very supportive of “an amateur female athlete trying to compete on a professional stage.”
The ICC's Player of the Month last August, and player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup Europe qualifier, Richardson knows having the backing of your employer can be a game-changer.
“Your skillset is not always enough," she says. "Sometimes it comes down to environmental factors which is everything else around you. I've always known how lucky I've been to be able to play for the last 15 years while also building a full-time administration career as well,” she explains.
Fortunately, she loves her job too. It involves strengthening cricket throughout the community.
"So it's from the five-year-old kid who's never seen cricket before... right through to the senior men's and women's leagues. We just try to give and provide amazing experiences of the game so that people fall in love with it as much as I have," Richardson says.
The last time the Irish women played was at the World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe last November. The team were looking to nab one of remaining three spots at next month's World Cup here in New Zealand.
Unfortunately, after a loss to West Indies (Richardson bowling 2-33 in her 10 overs) and a win over the Netherlands, the event was called off due to the emergence of Covid in the Sri Lankan team and the new Omicron variant going around Southern Africa.
The Irish women's cricket team, finally home in Dublin after the cancellation of the World Cup qualifying tournament due to Covid.
The ICC decided the three teams to qualify would be the three next top-ranked ODI teams. Ireland, sitting at ninth in the world, just missed out - which Richardson says was a “huge disappointment”.
“We wanted to be able to put on the park what the girls had been putting on in trainings,” she says. “We obviously went there to beat teams and to win. To have that called off only two fixtures into the tournament was pretty disappointing.”
While Richardson won't be out in the middle during the World Cup next month, she has a hand in helping promote the tournament and the game to thousands of schoolkids. Her community team at ND are delivering CRIC-KIDS, an education resource about the World Cup, to 112 schools across the northern region.
Travel restrictions meant Richardson and her teammates had to do a “tour of the world” to get home, Richardson jokes - flying from Harare in Zimbabwe to Namibia, to Oman, to Dhaka, then back home to Dublin over a three-day journey.
Ten days in hotel isolation in Dublin, a further four before Richardson could travel internationally, plus 14 days in MIQ in New Zealand meant she missed most of Northern Districts’ domestic season.
“I was prepared to miss about 30 percent of the season but I wasn’t prepared to miss like 60-70 percent,” she says.
“It's really disappointing to miss so much, because I’m really connected to, not only the organisation, but also to my teammates. So it’s been absolutely amazing to be back on the field.”
Richardson’s return to the Brave during the Super Smash helped the struggling side, and while their final match was a loss to the undefeated (and eventual champions) Wellington Blaze, it was a much improved performance for the Brave. Richardson took 3-27 with her right arm off-spin.
Richardson celebrates with teammate Emma Baker after dismissing the dangerous Sophie Devine for just five runs in the team's final Super Smash game.
From a young age, Richardson was playing hockey, football, badminton, tennis, and went along to the local cricket club with her older brother, loving the game from her first practice.
“I always wanted to be a professional athlete, since I was a little girl. I just thought that would be really cool,” she says. “I wanted to play at Wimbledon because that was the sport you could see on TV where there were other women playing.”
The visibility of women’s cricket has come a long way since, and Richardson and her colleagues at Northern Districts underwent a big brand change to further push the idea that cricket is a game for all.
ND merged their Super Smash teams into one name - the previously Northern Knights (men) and Northern Spirit (women) both playing under the new name and identity of the Northern Brave this season.
For the men, it was simply a name change, but for the women, it was a big step towards reducing the divide between the teams.
“My story is that I went to sleep second and woke up equal first,” says Richardson, who started playing for the Spirit in 2018.
“I’m so so proud to be part of ND as the first organisation that was brave or courageous enough to actually take that step, to go on that journey and to put into action really what we all talk about.
“It’s the start of a long journey because obviously the women’s game is still amateur at domestic level. But as a first step, it’s a really big first step."
The Northern Brave had a tough run this season, plagued by injuries and lockdown limitations.
Richardson is massively proud of the journey her Irish team are on to create a pathway for women to play cricket professionally in her home country.
“Previously we’ve been a fully amateur team competing in a professional league where you’d certainly never train the same volume - but you would never play the same volume of games either,” she says.
Having the chance to be available for all tours would drastically change the way the game is in Ireland, Richardson says.
“It’s actually going to be a career path back in Ireland, there are going to be opportunities for people to choose to do this on a part-time and full-time basis, and I think what’s really exciting is that step has now been achieved," she says.
“I always wanted to be a professional athlete and to know that’s now available for everyone else who has or could possibly have the same dream in their early 20s. That means a lot to me that I’ve been part of that journey, one of the many, on that journey and hopefully we’ve closed the door on that amateur chapter of the game.”
