Ashleigh Gardner Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Ashleigh Gardner is an Australian professional cricketer who has represented her country in all 3 formats of the sport (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is) and is widely regarded as one of the best all-rounders of her era. She was a key part of the Australian squad that won the ICC (International Cricket Council) Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022, the record-extending 7th time that Australia had achieved the feat. She was also an integral member of the Australian squads that clinched the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2018, 2020, and 2023 – the record-extending 4th, 5th, and 6th times, respectively, that Australia had achieved this feat. In the Australian domestic circuit, Ashleigh has played for New South Wales (2015-2017, 2018-Present) and South Australia (2017-18) across all 3 formats. In franchise-based T20 cricket, she has turned out for the Sydney Sixers (2015-Present) in the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) and the Gujarat Giants (2023) in the WPL (Women’s Premier League). Ashleigh has also played domestic cricket outside of her home country, representing Northern Districts (2015-16) in New Zealand.

Born Name

Ashleigh Katherine Gardner

Nick Name

Ash, Bushy

Sun Sign

Aries

Born Place

Kogarah, Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Residence

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Nationality

Education

Ashleigh had attended Kinross Wolaroi School, an independent co-educational day and boarding school, located in Orange, a rural city in the Australian state of New South Wales. She later studied at Picnic Point High School, a government school located in Picnic Point, a suburb of the city of Canterbury-Bankstown in New South Wales.

Occupation

Professional Cricketer

Family

• Father – Jim Gardner
• Mother – Katherine Gardner
• Siblings – Aaron Gardner (Older Brother)

Manager

She has been represented by Phoebe Rothfield, Manager & Booking Agent, W Sports & Media, Sports/Entertainment Talent Management Agency, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Batting

Right-Handed

Bowling

Right-Arm Off-Break

Role

All-Rounder

Jersey Number

• 63 – Test Match, One Day International (ODI), T20 International (T20I)
• 6 – Sydney Sixers (WBBL)

Build

Athletic

Height

5 ft 8 in or 173 cm

Weight

64 kg or 141 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Ashleigh has dated –

1. Bridget Patterson
2. Monica Wright (2021-Present)

Race / Ethnicity

White

She is of Indigenous descent through her mother’s Muruwari (an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales and the southwestern area of the state of Queensland) heritage.

Hair Color

Blonde

Eye Color

Green

Sexual Orientation

Lesbian

Distinctive Features

• Toned physique
• Side-parted, shoulder-length, straight hair
• Charming smile
• Gleaming face
• Has her left hand covered in tattoos

Brand Endorsements

She has been sponsored by –

• DSC (Delux Sports Company) (Indian sporting goods manufacturer that specializes in cricketing equipment)
• Nike, Inc. (American multinational footwear, apparel, and sports equipment brand)

Ashleigh Gardner Facts

1. Ashleigh first came into the spotlight during the 2016-17 season of the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League), the 2nd edition of the tournament. She claimed 10 wickets during the tournament and scored 414 runs (5th highest in the tournament) in 16 innings, helping the Sydney Sixers win the tournament for the 1st time. For her stellar all-round performance, she was named the season’s ‘Young Gun’ and also included in the ‘Team of the Tournament’.
2. In February 2017, on her WT20I (and international) debut for Australia, Ashleigh was run out for a ‘golden duck’ (dismissed on the first ball faced, without scoring any run). Her WODI debut for Australia, in March 2017, turned out much better as she hit the match-winning runs in her team’s 4-wicket victory.
3. In June 2017, in Australia’s opening match of the 2017 edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, against the West Indies, she became the first Indigenous Australian woman to play a match in the tournament. Ashleigh took 8 wickets in 8 matches across the tournament as Australia reached the semi-final stage.
4. In December 2017, in the Sydney Sixers‘ first match of the 2017-18 season of the WBBL, she smoked 114 runs off just 52 balls. It was the league’s highest individual score at that time. She was named the ‘Player of the Match’ as her knock helped the Sydney Sixers post a mammoth total of 242 runs, resulting in an 86-run victory.
5. In the semi-final of the tournament, Ashleigh scored 72 runs in just 45 balls even as the Sydney Sixers limped to a total of just 138 runs. Her knock proved invaluable in the end as the Sydney Sixers went on to win the match by 17 runs. The team went on to clinch its 2nd successive WBBL title with a massive 9-wicket victory in the final.
6. At the 2018 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, she was the joint-highest wicket-taker (10 wickets in just 6 matches) in the tournament. She also produced a stellar all-round ‘Player of the Match’ performance in the final of the tournament (3/22 and 33 runs not out) – against arch-rivals England. Australia won the match by 8 wickets, clinching the title for a record-extending 4th time.
7. In July 2019, on her test match debut for Australia, Ashleigh became the first woman in history to get off the mark (score the first run of one’s inning) with a sixer in all three formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is) of international cricket.
8. At the 2020 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, she took the winning catch in the tournament’s final, clinching Australia’s 2nd consecutive such title and its record-extending 5th overall.
9. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashleigh began practicing dot painting. Her work created a lot of buzz on social media and several Australian cricketers commissioned pieces from her.
10. In 2022, Ashleigh won the prestigious ‘Belinda Clark Award’, an annual honor, presented since 2002, to Australia’s best female international cricketer. Determined by performances over the previous 12-month period, the award is named after the legendary former Australian national team captain Belinda Clark.
11. At the 2022 edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, Ashleigh captured 10 wickets at a stellar average of 19 runs per wicket, helping Australia win the title for a record-extending 7th time.
12. Ashleigh was also a key member of the Australian squad that won the ‘Gold’ medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. It was the first occasion where women’s cricket was included in the Commonwealth Games and just the 2nd time that cricket was played at the Commonwealth Games – a men’s tournament had previously been featured at the 1998 edition held in Kuala Lumpur.
13. In Australia’s opening match of the tournament, against India, she scored 52 runs not out off 35 balls to help Australia recover from a wobbly score of 49/5 to successfully chase down a target of 155 runs. She was named the ‘Player of the Match’. In the final of the tournament, also against India, Ashleigh produced a spectacular all-round performance (25 runs off 15 balls and 3/16 in 3 overs) in a narrow 9-run victory.
14. During the 2022-23 season of the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League), the 8th edition of the tournament, she was the 4th highest wicket-taker (23 wickets in 15 innings) and the 8th-highest run-getter (339 runs in 14 innings). She also won the ‘Player of the Match’ award 5 times during the tournament – no other player won it more than thrice.
15. Her stupendous all-round performance saw the Sydney Sixers finish in the top position in the group stage with an 11-2 win-loss record in 14 matches. Although the team lost the final by a narrow margin of 10 runs, she was named the ‘Player of the Tournament’. This was the first time that the award had been won by a past ‘Young Gun’ award winner – Ashleigh had won the latter award at the end of the 2016-17 season of the tournament.
16. In December 2022, in a WT20I match against India, she and Grace Harris put together an unbroken partnership of 129 runs – a new record for the 5th wicket in the WT20I format.
17. In February 2023, in the auction for the upcoming inaugural edition of the WPL (Women’s Premier League), Ashleigh was acquired by the Gujarat Giants for INR 3.2 crores. She was the joint most expensive overseas player in the auction – tied with Nat Sciver-Brunt, acquired by the Mumbai Indians. Overall, only Smriti Mandhana – acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.4 crores – was ahead of her and Nat.
18. In Australia’s opening match of the group stage of the 2023 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, against New Zealand, she recorded a 5-wicket haul (5/12) in just 3 overs to send the Kiwis spinning to a massive 97-run defeat. She was named the ‘Player of the Match’.
19. In the semi-final of the tournament, against India, Ashleigh scored a quickfire 31 runs (off just 18 balls) to propel Australia to an above-par total of 172 runs. In the 2nd half of the match, she took 2 wickets as Australia edged a tight contest by just 5 runs. She was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for her all-round showing.
20. In the final of the tournament, against hosts South Africa, she bowled a stifling spell of 1/20 in 4 overs to help Australia defend their total of 156 runs by a 19-run margin. The win gave Australia its 3rd consecutive ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title and its record-extending 6th overall. For scoring 110 runs in 5 innings and scalping 10 wickets (the joint 2nd-highest in the tournament) in 6 innings, Ashleigh was named the ‘Player of the series’.
21. She won the Belinda Clark Award at the Australian Cricket Awards 2024.

Featured Image by Ashleigh Gardner / Instagram