Gardner bowling for Australia during the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup (Photo by Bahnfred)
Ash Gardner’s blistering unbeaten century helped Australia to a stunning six-wicket win over England at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
The 28-year-old blasted 104 not out from just 73 balls to help the seven-time champions recover from 68 for four chasing 245 runs for victory.
Gardner’s exploits were part of an unbroken 180-run fifth-wicket stand with Annabel Sutherland (98*) after the pair had earlier starred with the ball to restrict England to 244 for nine.
Tammy Beaumont’s 78 had given England a target they felt comfortable defending but Gardner and Sutherland had other ideas as Australia moved back to the top of the group stage table following the triumph.
Having been put into bat by stand-in Australian captain Tahlia McGrath – deputising for the injured Alyssa Healy – England looked to take the game to their great rivals early on.
Beaumont’s six in the just the second over signalled their intent as the 34-year-old and Amy Jones crashed multiple early boundaries on their way to an opening stand of 55.
As Megan Schutt and Kim Garth toiled, the introduction of Sutherland (3/60) broke the opening stand as she produced a swinging delivery to knock over Jones for 18.
Beaumont went to her first fifty of the competition with a delightfully timed cut through backward point after Heather Knight – the centurion in England’s four-run win over India – departed for 20 after being given out LBW to Sophie Molineux on review.
Alana King removed skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt for seven as she and Gardner (2/39) stifled the middle part of England’s innings and made scoring difficult.
The return of Sutherland to the attack sparked the loss of three quick wickets as England slipped from 147 for three to 166 for six in a 4.3 over blitz.
First to go was Beaumont after she holed out to Georgia Voll, who took a smart catch at the second attempt, on the boundary.
Emma Lamb became Sutherland’s third victim when she was bowled by a slower ball before Gardner had Sophia Dunkley stumped by Beth Mooney for 22 after the batter misread a flighted delivery trying to heave the ball into the legside.
As Australia looked to turn the screw, England fought back through Alice Capsey and Charlie Dean with the duo producing a valuable 61-run stand for the seventh wicket to push the score above and beyond 200.
The pair eventually fell within three balls of one another as Molineux pinned Capsey leg before for 38 and Gardner had Dean caught at cover for 26.
Sophie Ecclestone’s late seven-ball cameo – which included a boundary off the final ball of the innings after Linsey Smith had been run out – added 10 vital runs to England’s total.
In response, Australia’s top order was rocked by devastating opening spells from Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith to leave the reigning champions 24 for three inside six overs.
Phoebe Litchfield had her off-stump knocked back by Bell just three balls into their chase before Smith accounted for Voll and Ellyse Perry.
A brilliant catch by Sciver-Brunt at mid-wicket sent Mooney back to the pavilion for 20 but Sutherland and Gardner wrestled the game back.
Sutherland’s thunderous slog-sweep for six highlighted the momentum shift within the game and she went to her half century, from 66 balls, by drilling Dean through the covers.
Gardner followed suit by pulling Sciver-Brunt to the rope at backward square leg to bring up her second World Cup fifty as Australia assumed a position of complete control.
Three boundaries from Gardner’s blade in the 36th over, took Australia past 200 and their target to under 50.
The duo continued to look imperious at the crease and Gardner duly wrapped up the match with a lofted drive to the rope having gone to her second century of this year’s World Cup the over before.
Tahlia McGrath hailed the impact of Annabel Sutherland after the all-rounder helped Australia pull off the remarkable six-wicket victory over England.
“She’s such a gun,” said McGrath, who was standing in as captain for the injured Alyssa Healy. “It’s scary how young she still is. She’s one of our hardest trainers. Her planning is meticulous, and whenever we’re in trouble, you sort of just turn to Bells, she’s that good.”
“I know when I get in, I cash in,” said Sutherland, who was named Player of the Match. “I just try to trust my game. I’ve been tinkering with a few things mentally and I just try to give myself the best chance early on in my innings.
“I wanted to have some time in the middle. I feel like once I got in, it was actually a really nice wicket to bat on. There was a fast outfield and you get value for runs. I tried to get myself in and stay busy with my partner up the other end.”
Gardner hit the winning runs with a lofted drive to the rope having gone to her second century of this year’s World Cup the over before following her 115 against New Zealand.
The dominant triumph, which was wrapped up with more than nine overs remaining, highlighted the importance of Sutherland and Gardner’s stand and the centurion was delighted to be part of the match-winning partnership.
She said: “[I’m feeling] lots of happiness. When you bat in the middle order, you can either come in when you’re four for a lot or four for not many. We always speak about building big partnerships, and I guess when I got out there with Bells, she had a pretty good read of the wicket.
“It was about making sure that I was really clinical and trying to get off strike for starters. Then, If I got a ball in my area, making sure that I was capitalising on that as well. It showed [today] the longer you’re out there, the easier it got.”
The result marks England’s first defeat of the tournament but captain Sciver-Brunt remains confident that if her charges were to meet Australia again in the knockout stages, they’d be ready for the challenge.
She said: “Absolutely [we’re still positive of what lies ahead]. We’ll review this game very carefully and make sure we take the positives and the learnings as well. Coming up against a quality side, you have to be really good for the whole game, and we weren’t as good as Australia today.
“But definitely [I think we can beat Australia]. We weren’t at our best today, but I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet. We’ll be ready for them if we meet them again.”
RESULTS
England 244/9 from 50.0 overs (Tammy Beaumont 78, Alice Capsey 38; Annabel Sutherland 3/60, Ash Gardner 2/39)
Australia 248/4 from 40.3 overs (Ash Gardner 104*, Annabel Sutherland 98*; Linsey Smith 2/43, Lauren Bell 1/48)
Result: Australia won by six wickets
