Ashleigh Gardner's 5 best spells for Australia
In a historic start to the Women's Ashes, Ashleigh Gardner delivered a remarkable performance, decimating the England batting line-up in the fourth innings of the one-off Test.
As the fifth day of the multi-format series dawned, England faced the daunting task of chasing 152 runs with only five wickets in hand. However, they proved to be no match for Ashleigh Gardner's relentless bowling.
With incredible precision, the 26-year-old claimed the remaining five wickets before lunch, securing a resounding 89-run victory for Australia. Her outstanding figures of 8/66 in the innings added to her earlier contribution of 4/99 in the match.
Gardner's exceptional feat placed her alongside a select group, as only the second woman in history to take eight wickets in a Test innings. The previous record was held by Neetu David, who achieved figures of 8/53 for India against England Women in 1995.
Here we take a look at Ashleigh Gardner’s five best bowling spells for Australia:
#5 3/49 vs New Zealand, MCG
Ash Gardner was the star of the show as an impressive and disciplined bowling performance by Australia restricted New Zealand to 231 for eight in 50 overs.
Gardner was tough to get away for the New Zealand batters and she picked up the wickets of Sophie Devine, Katey Martin, and Hayley Jensen.
For Australia, all the top four batters contributed and Elysse Perry led the show with a half-century as they chased down the total in the 48th over with seven wickets to spare.
#4 3/39 vs India, Vadodara
Alyssa Healy was at her belligerent best as her stunning hundred powered Australia to 332 for 7 in their 50 overs. This task was always going to be tough for India and they never got going in the chase.
India got off to a bright start courtesy Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana, but then Ashleigh Gardner stepped up and choked the run chase.
She accounted for three wickets and started the decline with the wicket of Rodrigues. She ended with three wickets and gave away just 39 runs in her eight overs. India fell well short of their target and were bundled out for 235 runs in the 45th over.
#3 3/25 vs West Indies, Wellington
This was a World Cup match against the West Indies and Australia flexed all their muscles. Led by Elysse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner, Australia knocked out West Indies for a paltry 131. Gardner and Perry picked up three wickets each as West Indies never really were in the game.
Rachel Haynes then led the effort in the chase and stayed unbeaten at 83 as Australia chased down the total without breaking a sweat in the 31st over.
#2 2/22 vs India, Mumbai
It was a complete all-round show by Ashleigh Gardner against India in this T20I match played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
She was the best bowler on display as she picked up two wickets for just 22 runs in her quota of four overs. The Indian batters were kept on a tight leash by the offie and she also accounted for the wickets of Smirit Mandhana and Mithali Raj.
In the chase, she was promoted to the number three position and injected great momentum with a quickfire 15 off eight deliveries as Australia chased down India’s 152 with 11 balls to spare.
#1 2/20 vs India, Mumbai
Ashleigh Gardner was the player of the series in the T20I series between India and Australia last year. She made a consistent impact with both bat and ball right throughout the series.
In this particular match, Gardner was on fire with the bat. She first plundered 66 runs off 32 balls to power Australia to 196.
And then with the ball, she was in her element as she ended with two wickets for just 20 runs in her four overs to win player of the match and player of the series.