Ashleigh Gardner
A long-time Australia player, told the 100% Cricket podcast that she is looking forward to watching the young players play at the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup. She also talked about her experiences playing in front of a lot of people in India and the legacy she wants to leave for the sport.
At the beginning of 2023 in South Africa, sixteen teams will compete in the inaugural ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup. There will be 41 matches at three different locations during the tournament, and Gardner is excited to see some of the best young women’s players demonstrate their abilities.
Gardner stated on the 100% Cricket Podcast with Nasser Hussain and Frankie Mackay that she would have loved to have participated in such a tournament and had that level of exposure at a young age.
She mentioned that during a conversation in her team camp in India. We were actually talking about that the other day. Heather Graham, my teammate, and I are similar ages, and we both believed we would have been very good if we had participated in the U19 World Cup. However, it is evidently wonderful for the young players to have something to strive for at this time.
Gardner elaborated on the ways in which it will aid the game’s development, saying
The U19s and U17s Championships in Australia give us something to strive for—playing for your country at a young age and participating in a world tournament is fantastic to see, and it will really help our game grow internationally as well.
Gardner is currently in the middle of a five-match T20I tour of India, where Australia leads the series 3-0. At the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, both teams have played some nail-biting matches so far. The crowds turned out in large numbers.
Over 45,000 people attended the second match at the DY Patil Stadium, the most for a women’s match in India.
Gardner described her experiences playing in front of such large audiences as “exciting” when she spoke about them.
Talking on the ladies’ down taking off in India, Gardner said
” Seeing it is so exciting! We played in front of 45,000 people at DY Patil Stadium the other night, which was pretty special. That was the second-largest crowd I’ve ever played in, and you know how fervent and boisterous India fans are. No doubt it seemed like there was around 90,000 there.
The Best of Ash Gardner | CWC22 Gardner also said that getting used to the Indian fans’ loud noises was especially hard.
She stated that it does take some time to get used to. Because the crowd is clearly not on your side, they are hitting dots and ones and twos that you actually think are boundaries being crossed or they are on top of the game, and sometimes you feel like you are under the pump.
Knowing that they will be supporting the opposing side and being content with that, we attempt to remove the emotion from that. Despite the fact that it is evidently very loud, it probably is not paying much attention to the crowd.
With her accomplishments with both the bat and the ball, Gardner has established herself as an integral part of Australian women’s cricket since making her debut in 2017. She has been nominated for an ICC 100% Cricket Superstar for her performance, which helped Australia win the T20 World Cup, Cricket World Cup, and Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Ashleigh Gardner | Australia’s top all-rounder | 100% Cricket Despite her accomplishments on the field
Gardner wants to make a lasting impression off it.Being a role model for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia is also a source of significant motivation for Gardner. When asked about the legacy she wants to leave behind, Gardner said, “It’s huge and for me it’s a big driver for what I’m doing as a cricketer and ultimately, as a person.”