Ashleigh Gardner

Ashleigh Katherine Gardner is an Australian cricketer who currently plays for the national women’s team as an all-rounder. She’s a right-handed batter and right-arm off-spinner. Gardner also plays for New South Wales in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), for the Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), and for the Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

History: 

Gardner was born on 15 April 1997, in Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia. She attended Picnic Point High School. An Indigenous Australian through her mother’s Muruwari heritage, she formed the Ashleigh Gardner Foundation to “increase the percentage of Aboriginal kids finishing high school”.

During the pandemic in 2020, she developed an isolation hobby- dot painting. Her work was enthusiastically received on social media, with several notable cricketers—including Moises Henriques, Mel Jones, Nicole Bolton, and Alyssa Healy—commissioning pieces from her. The following year, she painted a pair of boots for GWS Giants footballer Erin Todd to wear during the Indigenous Round of the AFL Women’s competition.

Domestic Career :

Gardner made her WNCL debut for New South Wales in the 2015–16 season and joined the Sydney Sixers for the inaugural WBBL season. In the same summer, she played one T20 and one 50-over game in New Zealand for Northern Districts. Gardner enjoyed a breakout 2016–17 season, winning championships with both the Sixers and New South Wales, as well as being named the Young Gun of WBBL|02. Her participation in the WBBL final was impacted as she was forced from the field with heat exhaustion, reportedly as a precaution after a head knock at training two days earlier.

Moving to South Australia for the 2017–18 WNCL season, Gardner played just six games for the team. She began WBBL|03 in commanding fashion with an inning of 114 off 52 balls against the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval, recording the league’s fastest half-century and highest individual score. The Sixers went on to claim back-to-back championships, with Gardner contributing 22 not out in the final against the Perth Scorchers at Adelaide Oval. After an underwhelming 2021–22 campaign, Gardner rebounded strongly in WBBL|08 and was named Player of the Tournament—the first time the award was claimed by a past Young Gun winner.

International Career: 

Gardner was named in Australia’s squad in the 2016–17 series against New Zealand and made her Women’s Twenty20 International (WT20I) debut on 17 February at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. She took her first international wicket in the following game of the series, dismissing Amy Satterthwaite via a Kristen Beams catch.

Gardner made her Women’s One Day International (WODI) debut on 2 March at Bay Oval. She scored 12 not out with the bat, hitting the match-winning runs in her team’s four-wicket victory. In June 2017, Gardner became the first Indigenous Australian woman to appear in a cricket World Cup, playing against the West Indies in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup. She went on to take eight wickets. 

Gardner claimed ten wickets from six matches at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament. She took 3/22 and scored 32 not out in the championship decider against England at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, which Australia won by eight wickets. 

Gardner made her Test debut in the 2019 Women’s Ashes at the County Ground, Taunton. During the drawn match, she became the only woman to get off the mark with a six in all three formats of international cricket, emphasizing her aggressive play and powerful striking ability. She also took her maiden Test wicket in the same match, dismissing Katherine Brunt 

WPL Debut :

In February 2023, in the inaugural WPL auction, she was bought by Gujarat Giants for ₹3.2 crores.

Achievements:

As a Team

Women’s Cricket World Cup champion: 2022

3× ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champion: 2018, 2020, 2023

Commonwealth Games champion: 2022

2× Women’s National Cricket League champion: 2016–17, 2018–19

2× Women’s Big Bash League champion: 2016–17, 2017–18

As an Individual

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Player of the Final: 2018

Belinda Clark Award winner: 2022, 2024

WBBL Player of the Tournament: 2022–23

WBBL Young Gun Award winner: 2016–17

Batting stats

Bowling stats

Career Fielding Stats: