'In a place like India, you have to be really clear on your gameplan' - Ashleigh Gardner to focus on batting in white-ball series

Star Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner stated that she is determined to make her mark with the bat when her side face off India in six white-ball games, including three ODIs and as many T20Is. The first ODI is scheduled to commence on December 28, Thursday, at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Gardner had a lean streak during this year's Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). Meanwhile, the 26-year-old all-rounder has bowled a total of 50 overs in the one-off Test against the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side which they lost by eight wickets.

"I was loving it – until the next morning when I got out of bed and I was very sore in parts of my body that I didn't think I used when bowling. But it was a really cool opportunity for me. I surprisingly recovered quite quickly, I haven't felt like I bowled 50 overs in a Test match a couple of days ago, so I feel ready to go again," Gardner said on the eve of the first ODI.

I feel like I'm batting well in nets: Gardner

Speaking about her poor batting display in WBBL, Gardner stated that the tournament did not go as per her calculations. However, she is confident that she can put off some impressive performance with the bat in the forthcoming white-ball series. In the 2023 WBBL, the 26-year-old has grabbed 21 wickets at 18.5 while she hit only 289 runs at 22.

"The Big Bash didn't go quite as planned … that's frustrating because I feel like I'm batting well in the nets and it's almost just one of those things where I can't necessarily transfer it into games. That's the most annoying thing as a batter, when you feel that you're actually timing the ball well and you're hitting the ball, and you just want it to then happen in games. 

"I feel like I'm not that far away, I don't think it's technical, it's just not being able to make clear decisions. In a place like India, you have to be really clear on your gameplan and that's something that I'm really going to focus on in these last six games over here in India," she added. However, she further stated that her confidence with the ball was at the highest level.

"Bowling is one of those skills where you do get more than one shot, with the bat if you get out, you're out (but) with the ball you can show a little bit more resilience. That's something that I've done over the last few years, really tried to hone in on what I'm really good at with the ball and being able to utilise that more often than not. That comes back to Alyssa Healy having a lot of faith in me with the ball at the moment, which has put my confidence in a really good place. I'm in a really good spot with the ball at the moment and hopefully that can transfer over to the bat as well,” the Aussie concluded.