Gardner lifts Aussie bowling unit ahead of World Cup

Ashleigh Gardner will be giving the vortex a wide berth for the remainder of Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign, but the allrounder did not miss a beat with the ball on Sunday following her concussion scare. 

Having sat out the series opener after clashing heads with teammate Georgia Wareham during a warm-up game on Thursday, Gardner’s 3-16 helped Australia defend a below-par 142 all out at the Great Barrier Reef Arena on Sunday. 

Alongside a miserly Annabel Sutherland (1-18), the hosts restricted New Zealand to 7-113 to secure a 29-run win and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. 

While she conceded there was work to do for the batting group before their World Cup campaign begins in Dubai on October 5, Gardner said the bowlers would take plenty of confidence from their own display. 

It was just the second time Australia have successfully defended a total after being bowled out in T20Is. The previous occasion was a group stage game against South Africa at the 2010 T20 World Cup. 

"The power play set the tone," Gardner said after the match.  

"We didn't take heaps of wickets, but I still think when you're chasing a score like 140 and you get behind the eight ball, the run rate does jump up pretty quickly and before you know it, you need to go at eights and nines.  

"By the 10-over mark that was what they needed to do, to go at nines ... and I know as a batting unit, to go at nines for 10 overs is a pretty challenging task.  

"I think certainly going into conditions like the UAE where we haven't played before, we're going into the unknown a little bit … (but) we know that if we have a total like 140, our bowling unit is good enough to restrict the other team to staying under that." 

Australia and New Zealand will have one final hit out at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Tuesday night before they fly to Dubai the following day. 

After being bowled out in 19.2 overs, with Alyssa Healy the only Australia batter to look comfortable during her 38 off 25, Gardner said there was plenty of room for improvement should they again get the chance to bat first. 

"We had a really good power play, we had a really good start but when you lose wickets in clumps, it stalls the innings a bit – I think it was a 160-run wicket," she said.  

"(It’s about) decision making. It was a good wicket, but it was also still quite tricky to get yourself in.  

"So, it's probably just giving ourselves a couple more balls and then going from there.  

"Credit to Amelia Kerr, she bowled really well tonight, and I think she's the barometer of their team with the ball – if she bowls well, they tend to bowl well as a unit.  

"For us, it's being able to realise that … she's certainly bowled well against us in the past, and I think when we've kept her quiet, that's when we played really well.  

"So as batters it's going back and having a look at the footage, she bowled her wrong'un a lot tonight."  

Gardner said she had been in good spirits since she was ruled out of Thursday’s series opener just minutes before the coin toss, after clashing heads with Wareham while both were trying to catch a vortex during a warm-up game. 

Given her history of concussions, the allrounder sat out the game as a precaution, but was given the all-clear for the second game after being cleared of concussion.  

"I think that's the end of the vortex for the rest of the tour," Gardner laughed.  

"It was nice to get back out there. It was a bit of a weird (thing) having a head collision in a warm-up but I've actually felt really good the last couple of days.  

"I've had a lot of head knocks in the past, so I know when I am concussed and when I'm not.  

"I followed the protocols in in terms of coming back, but I felt like I've been a really good place the last couple of days." 

CommBank T20I Series v New Zealand   

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

First T20: Australia defeated New Zealand by five wickets

Second T20: Australia defeated New Zealand by 29 runs

Third T20: September 24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 7.10pm