Aus vs NZ women’s T20 series – Ashleigh Gardner cleared of concussion after Georgia Wareham head clash
Ashleigh Gardner has been cleared of concussion after the allrounder’s bizarre collision with Georgia Wareham before Australia’s T20I against New Zealand.
Gardner missed Australia’s series-opening win in Mackay on Thursday night, after she and Wareham clashed heads during a warm-up game.
Wareham has also been cleared of any concussion symptoms after recovering from the knock to play in the five-wicket win.
Gardner, the reigning Belinda Clark Medallist, initially laughed off the incident before leaving the ground in tears. The 27-year-old has had a wretched history with concussions with seven throughout her professional career. The issue prompted Gardner to see a neuropsychologist in 2018, after suffering four in the space of 20 months.
Saturday’s news will therefore come as a welcome relief to Gardner, with both she and Wareham a chance to play the second T20 against New Zealand in Mackay on Sunday.
Australia also have other injury concerns ahead of next month’s World Cup in the UAE with Grace Harris (calf) and Kim Garth (knee) both missing the New Zealand series.
Beth Mooney, who will pay her 100th T20I in the second match of the series, said Australia would be looking to sharpen up.
“It was a good game for us, not a great one,” Mooney said. “So we’re looking to sharpen up every facet of the game, maybe getting off to a bit of a better start with the bat in terms of wickets lost, and then with the ball, maybe tidying up a few different areas there.
“[New Zealand] got 140 on the board and they perhaps were a few runs short, so we’ll have to adjust tomorrow night if they come out pretty hard.”
On the landmark game, which will come at the scene of one of her greatest performances, the unbeaten 125 against India in 2021, Mooney said: “It’s always nice to play one game for Australia, but to play a 100 when there was probably a time where I didn’t think I’d play any is very special.”
New Zealand were without Sophie Devine for the first game of the series as she continues to recover from an ankle injury with a cautious approach being taken ahead of the T20 World Cup
