By Ella Greenwood

Michaela Kirk doesn’t do things the easy way.

Having made the move from her native South Africa to England to play professional cricket in 2021, she landed opportunities playing for Lightning and Trent Rockets, initially rendering her decision to flee the nest a successful one.

But whilst playing against London Spirit in August of that year, she unknowingly tore her anterior cruciate ligament whilst fielding.

She initially tried to “run the injury off”, but the 21-year-old later had an MRI which confirmed her worst fears; 13 months of rehabilitation ahead and a challenging spell on the sidelines both physically and mentally.  

Hers is a story of resilience, however. A journey which, at times, has seemed relentless, but that path is gradually becoming smoother.

An all-rounder in the truest sense – batter, bowler and occasional wicket keeper – Kirk made a gamble when she decided to move to England in pursuit of a professional cricket career.

Her early success as a youngster saw her playing senior cricket by the age of 13, selected for Northerns’ CSA Provincial Women’s side, mixing with compatriot role-models who had donned the Green and Yellow of her birth nation.

In the following seven years, she amassed 1,293 runs and 38 wickets in 85 appearances for the region, captaining the side on several occasions during their 2019 title-winning season.

Then she was faced with a decision: pursue an undeniably promising career in South Africa, or start again in an unfamiliar country, joining a new team in the hope that it would skyrocket her chance to push for a career, and further honours, in the game.

“It was really tough,” Kirk says, reflecting on the decision-making process.

“I sat with my parents and my manager, Chris, who is a family friend, and I just said ‘what do I do it? Is it a risk, is it not?’

“The first day I arrived here I just thought ‘damn, there’s a lot of staff members compared to what I’m used to’. It felt like a far more professional setup compared to what we had in my province. I was used to only two or three coaches.

“At first, I was in the dark about who was actually playing here. When I was younger, I wanted to play in the Kia Super League and go to Loughborough because Mignon du Preez used to play there.

“Then I arrived, we had ten management staff, and we were lucky at Loughborough to have the facilities that were available to us. It was just a massive step up in my game and for me.”

Her first season in England saw her kick off her country representation with game-winning knocks of 61* and 38* in T20s for Nottinghamshire against Northamptonshire.

Amidst a steady start, a half-century against Sunrisers during her first opportunity opening the batting for Lightning was a marker of her ability and a platform from which to build.

However, her excitement to finally play for the East Midlands region was cut short by a season-ending injury, and Kirk was forced to trade her first full season on the field for doctors’ appointments and physiotherapy.

“At first, I wanted to play on,” she says, “I got up and thought it was probably just bruised, but Katherine Brunt told me to go off and get it checked.

“I ran off and did some sprints on the side and was like ‘oh, it’s fine’. It didn’t swell or appear bruised, and we did the ACL test and decided that it was okay.

“Then the next morning I woke up and the physio wanted to do a scan to make sure and that was when I found out that I’d torn my ACL and meniscus.”

After being told that her injuries were much more serious than first thought, Kirk faced a spell out of the game and initially feared for her position in the Rockets’ squad.

“When I found out what the injury was, I was just dead silent,” Kirk admits. 

“I was thinking about what that meant for me. Normally in teams, when you get injured, you get asked to leave and then they bring in someone else.

“But after seeing the coaches, it was very clear that they still wanted me in the group, and they were going to help me to get back to full fitness. That helped me to relax a little bit and focus on what I needed to do.”

Her recovery was far from straightforward, though, and she was forced to rely on a support network more than ever when her injury woes were put into context by family illness, delaying her family’s planned move to England.

“I came out of surgery and had to hop on a plane to South Africa. It was definitely a scary moment for us, but I also knew that I had to come back to the UK to see my doctor and start rehab.

“I returned, but my dad – who had moved to England with me - stayed for two months. Luckily, we have family friends here so when I wasn’t at rehab, I went down south to stay with them”

“The Lightning and Blaze family helped me a lot more than they probably think they did. I’d come to training and want to be a part of it, but obviously couldn’t do what everyone else was doing.

“They still included me and that helped me a lot mentally. What I learned after my first two months is that I needed to actually speak to someone because if I didn’t then I was just going to bottle it all up.

“It’s been a learning process; I don’t really like to talk about my feelings but after speaking to a few people on the team it allowed me to release what I was going through.”

Then came the physical challenges. 

Kirk’s initial hopes to be fit in time for the 2022 edition of The Hundred were put into doubt by physiotherapists’ recommendations, and a decision was ultimately made to focus on a return to full fitness to protect her future prospects.

“I went through three months of back and forth and then was sat down by coaches who decided that they weren’t going to release me whether I felt ready or not,” she says.

“They were scared that if I played, I would have a higher chance of reinjury or even tearing my other ACL.

“I know they had my best interest at heart, but it was difficult. I had a lot of one-to-ones with Sharpy [Anne Sharpe, Lightning Strength and Conditioning Coach].

“She explained that I needed to think about the long term. I had a chat with my family, and they told me that it was only one tournament, and to make sure that I focused on being okay for my next opportunity.”

The road may have been grueling, watching on as The Hundred passed by, but Kirk returned for the final two games of Lightning’s season in 2022.

Nervousness proved the overriding emotion on her comeback, but a clean bill of health meant she was primed to arrive at The Blaze’s pre-season three months later with renewed desire, and an aspiration to secure a much sought-after full contract.

And, as Kirk prepared to begin her winter training, there was more good news as her family reunited in England. 

“Coming back from injury, I’m just trying to remain as strong as possible because I obviously don’t want anything to happen again. I think I’m the fittest that I’ve ever been, which is brilliant.

“We have winter, another three to four months, which allows me to explore my options and grow my game.”

“The perfect end to all of this would be the contract, but everything is starting to fall into place.

“If you asked me at the beginning of the year, I wouldn’t have said that, but slowly getting stronger and fitter has meant that things are looking up for sure.”

With everything seemingly falling into place for Kirk, who has had to overcome her fair share of adversity since making her move to England, she is certainly one to watch as the women’s game revels in the spotlight.

Not doing things the easy way has brought a drive, a thirst to improve and a hunger to succeed; and now few would bet against Kirk achieving her aims in the game.

*******

England at Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge will host three international matches in 2023, with the sole Test Match of the Women’s Ashes taking place at Nottinghamshire’s historic home, before England’s men face New Zealand and Ireland in IT20 and ODI contests respectively. 

Secure your seats at trentbridge.co.uk/internationals.