Kirkham made his international senior debut for the national squad in January 2002 in a match against Poland. He was named as the England captain for 2006–07. He was part of the England team that participated in the field hockey world cup in Monchengladbach, Germany where they finished 5th overall. He also competed in the 2009 European championships in Amsterdam where England were champions. He was part of the England squad in Delhi, India at the Hero Honda World Cup that lost only one group game against Spain, putting them through to the semi-finals.