Ashleigh Gardner is looking to brush off her batting frustrations and regain confidence ahead of a well-earned break, as Australia aim to end their tour of the Caribbean – and a hectic seven months of cricket – on a high note.
Gardner has shone with the ball in St Kitts to help Australia secure an unassailable 2-0 ODI series lead, but after a frustrating hamstring niggle sidelined her for the final two T20Is in St Vincent, has yet to make a statement with the bat.
Her knocks of 12 and five have continued a lean run across all international formats in 2026, where she has averaged 16.85 from 10 innings – a stark contrast from 2025, where she averaged 63.77 in the green and gold.
Leading into the T20Is in St Vincent, the Australia vice-captain spoke of her desire to recapture her fearless best with the willow, and it remained front of mind at Warner Park on Wednesday.
“Apart from the milestones, which are pretty cool, I’ve been challenged in all three departments,” Gardner, who played her 100th T20I and 200th international game on this tour, said in St Kitts on Wednesday.
“With the bat, I only played that one game in the T20 series and then had that annoying little niggle that hung around for a little bit longer than what I was hoping.
“I think with batting, you have to take a lot of confidence when you walk out to bat and it’s probably just something that I’m lacking a little bit at the moment.
“Hopefully going to this last game, I can play a little bit more freely. I know I spoke about that before coming into this series, trying to really harness that, and I probably shied away from that a little bit.
“Batting can be pretty frustrating at times when you’re not super confident, but I guess with the ball, (I’m) taking confidence out of what I’ve done there, trying to change the game when I put a ball in hand.”
Gardner’s hamstring niggle came at a frustrating time for the 28-year-old, who has played just five of Australia’s past 12 T20Is since the start of last year due to various injury concerns.
It’s a trend she hopes will end once Australia’s players return from their annual break at the start of May, when their T20 World Cup preparations will ramp up in earnest at a training camp in Brisbane.
“It’s probably the fittest and the strongest I’ve ever been, so to pick up these little niggles here and there … it’s super frustrating,” Gardner said.
“It’s one of my favourite formats so not being able to have the impact on those games that I would have liked has been pretty frustrating.
“But hopefully, going forward with what’s going to be a very T20 dominated start to the summer, I can have a real impact both on and off the field … and then hopefully come away with the trophy at the end.”
The third and final ODI in St Kitts (5am Friday AEDT) marks the end of a seven-month period that has been non-stop for Australia’s top players, starting with an ODI series in India last September that was followed by the ODI World Cup and WBBL|11.
Most of the Aussies returned to India for the Women’s Premier League in January, then flew home for the multi-format series against Harmanpreet Kaur’s team before boarding a flight for the Caribbean just three days after the end of the WACA Test.
The month’s respite will be a welcome break for the Australians, who will head to the UK in late May ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“Coming to the closing parts of the season, we’re all super excited to finish on a high knowing that we do have a big break before we get into what’s going to be a hectic (year) ahead,” Gardner said.
“Our focus is definitely on tomorrow, making sure that we are super clinical in the way that we finish the season, and then just making sure that we’re celebrating those little successes that we’ve had along the season too, looking forward to what’s going to be a huge couple of months.”
Qantas tour of the West Indies 2026
First T20I: Australia won by 43 runs
Second T20I: Australia won by 17 runs
Third T20I: Australia won by 40 runs (DLS method)
First ODI: Australia won by 103 runs
Second ODI: Australia won by 90 runs
Third ODI: April 3, Warner Park, St Kitts, 5am AEDT (April 2, 2pm local)
West Indies squad: Hayley Matthews (c), Chinelle Henry (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Jahzara Claxton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grimmond, Shawnisha Hector, Qiana Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Shunelle Sawh, Stafanie Taylor
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham, Tahlia Wilson
All matches to be broadcast on ESPN via Disney+ only
