The Australia allrounder talks about her fitness and diet regimes, gearing up for the ODI World Cup and her captaincy stint in the ongoing Hundred
Valkerie Baynes20-Aug-20251:24
Gardner on using the Hundred to gauge the opposition
Every franchise tournament has its own unique flavour and quirks, none more so than the Hundred. But for all its overs turned “sets” and scoring graphics which confuse rusted-on cricket fans and newcomers alike, this year’s women’s competition offers a more conventional platform as an information-gathering exercise ahead of the 50-over World Cup.Ashleigh Gardner, the Australia allrounder and Trent Rockets captain, says it’s inevitable that players will be sizing each other up ahead of the global tournament in India and Sri Lanka in six weeks’ time.”From an opposition point of view, it’s probably trying to pick up things off your team-mates or people that you’re playing against, little cues that you can take back to your homeland and plan accordingly,” Gardner told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast.Related
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“There’s no denying that and there’s probably other countries around the world, if you’re playing with another international, try and get some things from them or talk to them about, not necessarily their game plan, but just having those off-the-cuff conversations and trying to wrap your head around that because that’s so important.”We play a lot of cricket with these people and against them, so it’s, how can I try and get the upper hand where I can? Sometimes that’s going to be harder to do, but just looking at the game holistically.”While the formats differ and there are no India players involved in the Hundred this year, removing the chance to go up against players from a side Gardner believes will be a “huge threat” at the World Cup, there are several Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England stars in action.Australia will play an ODI series in India immediately before the World Cup and Pakistan will host South Africa from mid-September but for other sides, warm-up games will be the only other chance to gauge the opposition ahead of the tournament.”I’ve got potentially a longer time to bat and more overs to bowl, but I don’t think it really changes for me, I’ve always got the same mindset,” Gardner said. “I want to take the game on and I want to expose the areas of the game that I can, so for me, it’s trying to do that for longer periods of time.”India looked a class above their hosts in a recent 2-1 ODI series win in England, only losing the rain-affected second match at Lord’s, and Australia smashed England across formats during the Women’s Ashes in January, where the Australians’ superior fitness and athleticism was at the fore once again.1:32
Gardner: ‘Body image is a big one around female athletes’
The fallout from that series for England, who had already had their fitness questioned after their early exit from the T20 World Cup last October, was significant with a change of captaincy and new head coach Charlotte Edwards revealing that players would be held to minimum fitness standards from next year.Gardner gave some insight into how the Australians prepared for the “rude shock” of 50-over matches after playing in the shortened format of the Hundred.”We’re going to be spending double the time on our feet, so I know for us Aussie players, we play a game of cricket, but then the next day or that day we need to then run again, we need to gym,” she said.”It might be mentally taxing at the time, knowing that you have to play a game of cricket, which you’re obviously trying to win and be successful in, but also having one eye on the World Cup and making sure that our bodies are getting in the right spot.
“Body image is a really big one around female athletes and making sure that we’re fuelling and we’re not under-eating and things like that because of what someone else perceives your body to be”
“It’s making sure that training days are really big and you’re getting a lot out of that and then you’re doing your cricket skills, of course. Then game days, you’re trying to tick those off as well, so they do become quite big days.”I love playing franchise cricket, but playing for Australia is always going to be that No. 1 option for me, so making sure that I’ve got my focus on that as well.”Gardner also acknowledged the sensitivities around talking about fitness in women’s sport because the discussion becomes inextricably linked to body image.”Speaking from a personal perspective, I view myself as an athlete, so it’s how do I best get my body into shape and to be the fittest that I can be,” she said. “Body image is a really big one around female athletes and making sure that we’re fuelling and we’re not under-eating and things like that because of what someone else perceives your body to be. It’s making sure that you’re fit enough and you’re strong enough to complete those activities and making sure that you’re in the right head space while doing that.”People naturally get caught up with eating and things like that, which is obviously the real negative side to it because people naturally are worried about what other people perceive them as. I’ve certainly gone through things where you count calories and you do all this stuff and it clouds your mind. It actually doesn’t make you any clearer.Ash Gardner is leading Trent Rockets this year in the Hundred•Warren Little/Getty Images”For me, it’s, what does my body need from me right now? And making sure that I’m fuelling properly, because that’s what’s not going to get me injured. It’s making sure that I push my body to the limits in terms of I want to get really fit and strong, but how do I do that in the most manageable way possible to then be a good cricketer as well.”Meg Lanning, the former Australia captain, revealed last year that she had retired from international cricket in 2023 amid a battle with over-exercising and under-eating. Now in the next phase of her cricket career, she is leading the Hundred run-scoring charts.The Hundred has also given Gardner the chance to develop her captaincy skills. Having led Gujarat Giants during this year’s WPL, she took over at Trent Rockets when Nat Sciver-Brunt, the new England captain, opted for a player-only role with the franchise as a way of managing her workload.Trent Rockets sit sixth on the eight-team table with just one win from five games. Gardner has scored 130 runs at 26 and a strike rate of 144.44 with a highest score of 61 and taken three wickets at an economy rate of 7.76 including 2 for 14 against London Spirit in her side’s only victory this year so far.And while her ambition to leave the competition with the trophy has taken a hit, Gardner can still take plenty away from her experience.”Being able to lead, working through how I react in different situations and figuring myself out a little bit, I feel like once I do that, it gives me a really good opportunity to keep improving in that space,” she said. “Hopefully bringing success individually on the field and then being able to have the biggest impact for my team.”