Ashleigh Gardner has heard the chatter around Australia’s women’s side. Two World Cups gone, two semi-final exits, no silverware since 2023. Yet the all-rounder is firm: the team are still on top, even if the rankings are doing a little more of the talking than the trophy cabinet right now.
Winners of every ODI and T20 World Cup between 2018 and 2023, Australia suddenly find themselves chasing rather than defending. South Africa bundled them out of the 2024 T20 event, India repeated the trick in this year’s 50-over tournament, and the questions have followed ever since.
They will not have to wait long to respond. In 50 days’ time the multi-format series against India begins at the SCG, stretching through February and March. A trip to the West Indies follows, and then the next global shot: the T20 World Cup in England in June.
Gardner sees no need for radical surgery before then. “I think there’s not going to be too many dramatic changes,” she told AAP. “I don’t think there necessarily needs to be. It’s more those small moments that I don’t think we won and kind of letting the game go in ebbs and flows.”
It is hard to argue with the numbers. Outside those knockout defeats Australia won every group match at both tournaments and still sit comfortably atop the ICC rankings in every format. The side’s only comprehensive post-mortem is scheduled for February, once the squad assembles in Sydney. Expect the conversation to revolve around pressure, not philosophy.
Fielding will be high on the agenda. Several straightforward catches went down against India and, with them, Australia’s chance of making another final. Gardner is not hiding from that. “That’s going to happen at times, but making sure that if those things do arise, we have the tools and capabilities to recognise it and the tools to get out of that,” she said. “Everyone’s going to probably respond differently. But I would say overall it’s a pretty, standard thing that we’re trying to achieve.”
The last time the group reacted to disappointment—after the 2024 T20 exit—they doubled down on aggressive batting, then swept England in a home Ashes: three T20Is, three ODIs, the Test, all ticked off. A reminder, perhaps, that bounce-backs remain part of the squad’s DNA.
Leadership is another sub-plot. Alyssa Healy cannot play for ever and Gardner, 28, is widely tipped to inherit at least the deputy’s role over the next cycle. She is not shying away from the responsibility, nor from the countdown to England. “You have to think about that, don’t you? The last couple of World Cups have been frustrating because of the way that they’ve ended,” she admitted. “But I can sit here comfortably and say that I still believe that we’re the best team. It’s just making sure that we’re showing that in those moments where it really matters.
“So I’m certainly thinking about June next year, it seems like a long time away but it realistically isn’t and it’ll come around very quickly.”
India first, West Indies next, then England. Three stops to confirm whether Gardner’s faith is well placed or just well meant.
