Ashleigh Gardner is an all-rounder who represents the Australian women’s cricket team. She is an Australian cricketer. She was born in Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, on April 15, 1997.
Gardner, a right-handed batter and right-arm off-spinner, competes for Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League, Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League, and New South Wales at the Women’s National Cricket League. She has also been awarded 3 global & 4 national championships with all the teams she has been a part of. She has also received numerous individual honors, which include the Belinda Clark Award. Just a reminder to check IPL Sports news in English as the tournament progresses.
Today, we discuss this successful Australian batter’s career in the article below!
Domestic Career
Gardner earned her WNCL debut for New South Wales during the 2015–16 season after outstanding performances during the 2014–15 Imparja Cup. She then joined the Sydney Sixers for the first WBBL season. She represented Northern Districts (which is not to be confused with the name of one of her regional NSW Premier Cricket sides, Northern District Cricket Club) in a T20 and a 50-over match in New Zealand that same summer.
In addition to winning championships with the Sixers & New South Wales, Gardner had a breakout season in 2016–17, earning the title of WBBL|02’s Young Gun. She was reportedly removed from the field due to heat fatigue as a precaution following a head knock at practice two days prior, which prevented her from competing in the WBBL final.
For the 2017–18 WNCL season, Gardner transferred to South Australia. She played six matches for her new team before returning to her home state of New South Wales. She scored the fastest half-century as well as the highest individual score in the WBBL|03 with an inning of 114 from 52 balls versus the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval. The Sixers went on to win back-to-back titles, with Gardner making 22 runs in the finals game at Adelaide Oval against the Perth Scorchers. After being forced to leave the previous game late owing to a mild concussion she had during warm-ups, she was given the go-ahead to participate in the 2018–19 WNCL season final. She managed 30 not out while batting & 2/36 with the ball during the 33–run triumph over Queensland.
Gardner suffered her seventh concussion episode during a WBBL|06 game at Drummoyne Oval while fielding the ball, and she was taken off the field and replaced. The following three matches of the season were missed as a result. Gardner had a successful comeback in the WBBL|08 after a lackluster 2021–22 season, winning Player of the Tournament for the first time ever by a former Young Gun winner.
International Career
T20
Gardner made her Australian women’s cricket team debut in a T20I game against New Zealand in 2017. In the second T20I match facing the very same opposition, she established an immediate impression by smashing 90 runs from just 44 balls, which is still the highest T20I total by an Australian woman. A year later, in short succession, she scored her first fifty in both T20 and ODI matches against Pakistan in October 2018.
The ICC Women’s World Twenty20 event took place the following month when Gardner grabbed ten wickets from six games. At Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, where Australia defeated England by eight wickets, she took 3/22, made 32 unbeaten runs, and was voted Player of the Final.
On February 8, 2020, Gardner achieved her highest T20I score in a Tri-Nation Series game against India at the Junction Oval, scoring 93 runs off 57 balls despite her team losing by seven wickets. Later that month, she played against Bangladesh at Manuka Oval and produced her best performance of the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scoring 22 runs in just nine balls for an 86-run victory. Then, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, she made the game-winning catch to seal Australia’s second straight world championship.
ODI
Gardner made her Women’s One Day International (WODI) debut on March 2 at Bay Oval whilst on a 2016–17 Rose Bowl tour of New Zealand with the Australian team. She batted for 12 runs while still being unbeaten, scoring the game-winning runs in her team’s four-wicket triumph. When Gardner competed in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup against the West Indies in June 2017, she made history as the first Indigenous Australian woman to play in a cricket World Cup. She continued to play in the event when Australia was ousted in the semi-finals, taking 8 wickets from multiple matches.
In the opening match of the Women’s Ashes for 2017–18, Gardner made her first noteworthy bat contribution for Australia. She struck 27 off 18 deliveries midway in the race for runs to help her team secure a slim two-wicket triumph with five balls remaining after capturing three wickets in the one-day international at Allan Border Field
Test
At the County Ground in Taunton for the 2019 Women’s Ashes, Gardner played her first Test match. She made history by becoming the first female player to hit a six in each of the three international cricket formats during the drawn game, highlighting her aggressive approach and potent striking prowess. In the same game, she also secured her first Test wicket by dismissing Katherine Brunt for 15.
Conclusion
Ashleigh Gardner is undoubtedly one of the most gifted and adaptable cricketers in the world right now, and she will undoubtedly continue to make a huge impact on Australian cricket for many more years to come.
