Kim Garth's 'Close Game' Concern: A Lesson or an Excuse for Melbourne Stars?

A 15-run loss. Opponent Perth Scorchers. Then, in an interview, Melbourne Stars' pace bowler Kim Garth says the team often puts itself in strong positions but fails to get over the line in closing overs. This sounds less like a technical flaw and more like a mental block. But when I matched this statement against the results of the first three WBBL|12 games, something interesting emerged. Stars have won only one of their first three. That places them in the bottom half of the table early in the season. In such a scenario, the 'we can become contenders' narrative feels premature. When a senior player talks about 'winning close games,' she is actually pointing to death-overs pressure—the same pressure that cost Stars a wicket through Garth's reverse sweep. Playing a premeditated high-risk reverse sweep to leg-spinner Alana King resulted in lbw. Moreover, there is no hard data on how many close games the team has actually played in this three-match sample. One defeat and one self-criticism cannot establish a 'close game' malaise. The biggest disappointment here is the visible lack of a finisher or death-overs specialist who can take decisive calls in WBBL|12. Garth herself said she 'lost sleep' over that innings, which shows her accountability but also exposes dressing-room pressure.