On Thursday (October 1), Australia's Kim Garth's appearance against New Zealand saw her emulate her mother – making them the first mother-daughter pair to play at the World Cup. But who are the other parent-child pairs to do this?
Geoff & Shaun & Mitchell Marsh
The Marshes are one of cricket’s most well-known families. Geoff, an opening batter, played 50 Tests and 117 ODIs for Australia between 1985 and 1992, playing at the 1987 and 1992 World Cups. His 1987 campaign, 428 runs at 61.14, was integral to Australia’s victory.
Geoff’s elder son, Shaun, made waves in the inaugural IPL season, finishing as the top run-scorer. He played only two World Cup matches, both in 2019 as Australia made the semi-finals.
Mitchell, meanwhile, had a much better time. He played thrice at the 2015 World Cup as Australia won, but eight years later starred as an opener with 441 runs, emulating his father as Australia won the tournament this time as well, defeating favourites and tournament hosts India in the final.
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Lance & Chris Cairns
If not the most successful, the most active parent-child pair at World Cups. Lance played for New Zealand at three World Cups – the first three, in 1975, 1979 and 1983. He had little success with the bat (43 runs in 11 matches), but his 14 wickets came at a respectable average of 31.
Lance’s son Chris turned out to be one of New Zealand’s finest all-rounders, surpassing his father’s reputation. Lance played 43 Tests, Chris played 62. Lance played 78 ODIs, Chris played 215. Lance played 11 games at three World Cups, Chris played 28 at four World Cups.
His best tournament with the ball came in 1999, where he picked up 12 wickets at 28. It remained at a roughly part-time level at the other tournaments. He was more consistent with the bat, though, managing over 500 runs across the four World Cup editions from 1992 to 2003 with a strike rate in excess of 80.
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Anne-Marie McDonald & Kim Garth
The first mother-daughter pair to play at World Cups. Anne-Marie Garth, born McDonald, represented Ireland at the 1988 tournament before marrying Jonathan Garth two years later, and taking his surname. A seam bowler, she took two wickets in nine games even as Ireland only beat the Netherlands twice.
Thirty-seven years later, daughter Kim Garth took the field in Australia’s opening match of the 2025 World Cup to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Kim was born in Dublin, and played 85 times for Ireland before settling in Australia in 2020, and qualifying for the seven-time world champions.
Kim scored 38 from No.9 in her first game, and returned 0-34 in eight overs as Australia beat New Zealand by 89 runs.
Tim & Bas de Leede
One of Dutch cricket’s early representatives on the international stage, Tim de Leede built a reputation as a strong hitter, and solid seam bowler. He played three World Cups – 1996, 2003 and 2007. Tim took 14 wickets in all, but surely none would be as highly valued as his very first one; Sachin Tendulkar. In his first game at the 2003 World Cup, de Leede dismissed Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan to finish with 4-35.
His son Bas played at the 2023 tournament in India, and gave a good account of himself with 16 wickets. He did set an unwanted record though, conceding 115 runs against Australia in Delhi – the most in a men’s ODI.
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Rod & Tom Latham
Rod Latham only played 33 ODIs for New Zealand, but seven of them came at the 1992 World Cup. Opening the batting, he managed just 136 runs – and his part-time bowling only yielded one wicket.
Rod’s son Tom made his New Zealand debut in 2012 aged 19, and seven years later followed in his father’s footsteps with 10 appearances at the 2019 World Cup, which ended in heartbreaking fashion for New Zealand. Tom also played 10 games at the 2023 World Cup, as the Black Caps exited at the semi-final stage.
Kevin & Sam Curran
Kevin represented Zimbabwe at the 1983 and 1987 World Cups (and was portrayed in a relatively unflattering manner in the Hindi film made on India’s journey in former). Playing in a weak team on both occasions, he averaged 26 with the bat and 44 with the ball across 11 matches.
He has three cricket-playing sons, but Tom and Ben never appeared at a World Cup. Sam played three ODI World Cup games in 2023, a year after he won Player of the Tournament chiefly for his 13 wickets in England’s 2022 T20 World Cup-winning campaign. He also played the 2024 T20 World Cup, where England made the semi-finals.
Roger & Stuart Binny
A slightly more tenuous pair, as we go across formats. Karnataka medium pacer Roger Binny played at two World Cups, in 1983 and 1987, with only one appearance at the latter. But in the former, Binny’s 18 wickets were the highest in the tournament, as India famously went on to lift the trophy.
Binny’s son Stuart played for India at the 2014 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, which saw the Men in Blue lose the final. Stuart also made India’s squad for the 2015 World Cup Down Under, but did not play a game.
Joan & Carole Hodges
More tenuous even than the Binnys… because, well, Joan was not a player. This is not a parent-child pair that both played at World Cups, but it is worth mentioning since both mother and daughter were on official duty at World Cups – in fact, at the same ones.
In 1993, Carole, the pre-eminent all-rounder in women’s ODI cricket, made 334 runs and took 11 wickets at the World Cup, making her the first and thus far last woman to score 300 runs and take 10 wickets in one tournament. She won Player of the Tournament as England won the title, having fallen short at the previous edition in 1988 – Carole was part of the team that lost the final to Australia.
Joan, meanwhile, was a scorer for both these tournaments, meaning she had a front-row view to watch her daughter's awesome performances in the latter. She was on duty for the 1988 final, but perhaps cruelly did not have that honour when England redeemed themselves in 1993. Across the two tournaments, she scored 14 matches.
Fortunately, Joan was on duty when Carole scored the first of her two Test centuries, an unbeaten 158 against New Zealand in 1984. One hopes the nerves did not get to her...
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