Ashleigh Gardner Profile, Career & Stats

Ashleigh Gardner is a free-flowing middle-order batsman and an off-break bowler. She plays all three formats for Australia, while she represents the Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League. The all-rounder lives by the formula of seeing the ball and depositing it into the stands. 

A 17-year-old Ashleigh Gardner made her name when she topped the run tally during the U18 Championship and took New South Wales to the title in 2015. Later, she was awarded the Player of the Series award and the Lord Taverners Indigenous Player of the Year award for her breakthrough performances. The all-rounder carried her form during the 2016-17 season, where she grabbed nine wickets and played a useful part with the bat as well. 

In February 2017, the all-rounder grabbed her T20I cap against New Zealand. A month later, she made her ODI debut against the White Ferns. Gardner was also part of Australia’s squad during the 2017 World Cup, which went to the semifinal of the tournament. 

In 2017, she scored 117 runs off just 52 deliveries to post the highest score in the WBBL, ending the season as the highest run-getter. The next year, she led an Indigenous squad on a tour of the United Kingdom to mark the 150th Anniversary of the all-Aboriginal cricket team.

As her career progressed, Gardner became a seasoned T20 campaigner. On the back of WBBL performances, the all-rounder was selected for the 2020 World T20, which Australia won in front of a crowd of 86000 people at the MCG. In 2021, she was named for the limited-overs series to be played against New Zealand in March. 

The all-rounder could be the chief architect for Australia in the 50-over World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2022. With age and talent on her side, Gardner has the potential to serve Australia for a long, long time.

Gardner wasn’t just keeping pace with the game—she was shaping it. As 2021 unfolded, her presence in the WBBL continued to command attention. Still donning the magenta of the Sydney Sixers, she carried the reputation of having smashed the fastest fifty in WBBL history back in 2017—a blistering 22-ball storm that left bowlers dazed. While that knock remained a career highlight, Gardner’s form didn’t simmer down. Across the 2021–22 season, she stayed central to the Sixers’ ambitions, blending power-hitting with crucial off-spin spells. Her performances had evolved—not just fireworks, but finesse when needed. She wasn’t just a Young Gun anymore; she was a mainstay, a threat teams planned for.

The stage grew larger in 2022, and Gardner met it with poise and punch. At the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, she played her part in Australia’s dominant, unbeaten run to the title. But it was at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she truly unleashed. Under gold-medal pressure, in a tense final against India, Gardner delivered a match-turning spell—3 for 16, including two wickets in two balls that shut down India’s hopes of a late charge.

In early 2022, she broke significant ground by becoming the first Indigenous Australian woman to win the Belinda Clark Award, the highest individual honour in Australian women's cricket. It was more than just a trophy—it was a cultural moment. Gardner’s powerful performances across formats had caught the eye. Still, the award also recognised her as a trailblazer, inspiring countless young Indigenous athletes with every step she took on the field.

Then came the Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in June 2023, a match that instantly became folklore. Battling a finger injury, Gardner delivered the most devastating bowling performance ever recorded by an Australian woman in Test cricket—12 wickets for 165 runs, split across two innings.

Back home, she continued to shine in the WBBL. During the 2022–23 season (WBBL|08), Gardner was in scorching form for the Sydney Sixers—23 wickets, multiple match-turning spells, and enough consistency to earn her the Player of the Tournament award. She was also named in the Team of the Tournament, winning five Player of the Match awards across the season.

Her all-format brilliance was formally recognised once more when she won her second Belinda Clark Award, making her only the third woman in history to earn the honour more than once. What set this one apart was the sheer scale of dominance: 56 wickets across formats in the calendar year—the best single-year haul by any female bowler in the game’s history.

And much of that dominance had been on full display in South Africa during the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. There, Gardner walked away with the Player of the Tournament crown, thanks to her dual-threat contributions: 110 crucial runs and 10 wickets. In a side brimming with champions, it was Gardner who consistently tipped the balance in Australia’s favour, her calm under pressure matched only by her aggression when it mattered.

But perhaps the most poetic moment came early in 2025, during the Women’s Ashes. On January 17, in the third ODI, Gardner brought up a long-awaited landmark: her maiden ODI century—a fluent 102 off 102 balls, perfectly balancing elegance and power.

Even champions carry scars—and for Ashleigh Gardner, the path to greatness has often wound through pain. In March 2025, during the T20I opener in New Zealand, Gardner suffered a fracture to her index finger while diving for a catch—an injury that abruptly ended her series. It was a frustrating halt to a strong run of form, especially following her recent Ashes heroics. But for a player as central to Australia’s plans as Gardner, any time on the sidelines leaves a tactical and emotional void. The team missed her ability to shift momentum with both bat and ball, as well as her composure in pressure moments.

This wasn’t her first brush with adversity. Back in June 2023, during her record-breaking 12-wicket Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, Gardner revealed she’d played through a bowling-hand injury, enduring sleepless nights and discomfort throughout the match. Yet, not only did she take the field—she dominated. It was the kind of gritty, silent endurance that rarely shows on the scorecard but often defines elite athletes.

Looking ahead, Gardner’s trajectory remains as compelling as ever. She has already scaled historic peaks and survived gruelling lows. What makes her future even more exciting is the balance she’s struck between explosive impact and mature resilience. With multiple ICC titles, national awards, and now hard-earned battle scars, Gardner enters her late 20s as a global leader in the women's game. If she can stay fit, there’s little doubt she’ll be central to Australia’s plans for the 2026 Women’s World Cup, the next Ashes cycle, and perhaps, even leadership roles beyond the boundary.

(As of September 2025)