Ashleigh Katherine Gardner, born on 15 April 1997 in Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is a prominent Australian cricketer known as an all-rounder.
A right-handed batter and right-arm off-spinner, she represents the Australian national women’s team across all formats, as well as New South Wales in the Women’s National Cricket League, the Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League, and the Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League.
An Indigenous Australian through her mother Katherine, Goodwin’s Muruwari heritage from north-western New South Wales, Gardner has become a trailblazer as one of the few Aboriginal women to reach the highest levels of the sport.
Beyond cricket, she founded the Ashleigh Gardner Foundation to support Aboriginal children’s education and wellbeing.
Siblings
Ashleigh has one sibling, an older brother named Aaron Gardner.
Growing up together in the Sydney area, the siblings shared a strong sporting bond that profoundly shaped her path.
Aaron, who played various sports including cricket, rugby league and others, became a key role model for young Ashleigh.
She often joined him in backyard games, where competitive battles with a cricket ball or football built her resilience and drive.
Gardner has described wanting to participate in everything her brother did, and it was largely through watching and competing with Aaron, alongside their father Jim, that she first developed a passion for cricket.
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Career
Gardner’s cricket journey began in childhood when her father signed her up for the Revesby Workers Cricket Club around the age of six or seven, where she often played in boys’ teams and thrived in that environment.
She excelled at junior levels, including strong performances at the Imparja Cup, the national Indigenous cricket tournament, which led to a New South Wales state contract at just 17 while still in high school.
She made her Women’s National Cricket League debut for New South Wales in the 2015–16 season and joined the Sydney Sixers for the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League season.
Her international career started in 2017 with a T20I debut against New Zealand on 17 February, followed by her ODI debut against the same opposition on 2 March.
She earned her Test cap (number 174) against England on 18 July 2019, becoming one of the few known Indigenous players to wear the Baggy Green.
Gardner has been a consistent performer in major tournaments, contributing to Australia’s successes including the 2018, 2020 and 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cups, the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup, and gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Domestically she has helped the Sixers and New South Wales secure titles, and she has also featured in overseas leagues such as the Women’s Premier League with Gujarat Giants, where she later took on captaincy duties.
Accolades
Gardner’s achievements include multiple team triumphs and significant individual honours.
She was named Player of the Final at the 2018 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup after key contributions in the victory over England.
She has won the Belinda Clark Award, recognising Australia’s top women’s international cricketer, in both 2022 and 2024.
Additional accolades encompass the WBBL Young Gun Award in 2016-17, WBBL Player of the Tournament in 2022–23, and Player of the Tournament at the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
She has been named ICC Women’s Player of the Month on multiple occasions and was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
Notable records include match-winning bowling performances such as 8/66 in a Test against England, which ranked among the best figures in women’s Test history.
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