Living up to the Ridiculous Price Tag: My Expectations and Realities - Ash Gardner

It was the FaceTime call that transformed Ashleigh Gardner's life. After completing a training session in Gqeberha during the T20 World Cup, she joined a video call with her mum and watched in amazement as bids poured in for her spot at the first-ever Women's Premier League auction. The numbers continued to climb, eventually reaching a staggering INR 3.2 crore.

Her brother brought his phone into shot showing the calculator app, confirming that this was life-changing money: A$558,000 for three weeks' work, which ended up being the joint second-highest contract at the WPL. It marked a total transformation in women's cricket since Gardner signed her first state contract, worth A$3,000, as a teenager.

Male cricketers have had to deal with the pressure of a price tag ever since the IPL's inception in 2008. But when Gardner looked around the dressing room, she realised that this was a new sensation in the women's game: "It was totally bizarre," she tells ESPNcricinfo. "It was certainly something that I never thought would happen to me throughout my career."

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It reflected the explosion of interest and investment in women's cricket over the last decade. "People are buying into what the women's game is, showcasing women in sport," Gardner says. "Hopefully cricket is leading the way: I'm sure cricket and soccer are pretty close but to be involved in the women's game at the moment, and the evolution from 10 years ago to now, it's been fantastic."

Yet by her own admission, Gardner has struggled with her status as Gujarat Giants' highest earner. Her record across the WPL's first two editions has been solid enough but unspectacular - two half-centuries and a strike rate of 128.57 across 16 batting innings, plus 17 wickets with her offbreaks - and the franchise have finished bottom in both seasons.

"The ridiculous price tag that it came with certainly brought an expectation that I had to live up to," Gardner says. "It was weird, because I had - obviously - nothing to do with the price tag that I was bought for. It was like, OK, there's this expectation - but it's probably a perceived pressure thing that I'm putting on myself, which I have no control over.

"I probably haven't played to the best of my ability, which has been really disappointing… It was certainly life-changing, don't get me wrong. But associating myself with that is probably something that I try to stay away from. It's a number, at the end of the day. If I can keep performing and doing my best for the team, I think that's more important than anything else."

Gardner is speaking while wearing Trent Rockets' yellow training kit: she is playing in the Hundred for the first time, and was their top pick at the draft earlier this year. Her contract is worth £50,000 - around one-sixth of her WPL salary - but that reflects a 60% increase on previous years which was enough to attract the top Australian players to the competition.

The tournament fits well into their schedule this year. Australia have not played a game in the four months since they toured Bangladesh, so the Hundred represents the start of several players' T20 World Cup build-up, with the tournament starting in October. "It's probably the quietest off-season we've had in a little while," Gardner says.

But part of the attraction was the opportunity to play at some of England's best venues, in front of strong crowds: last weekend, the total attendance at the women's Hundred across four seasons went past one million. For Gardner, being signed by the Rockets also meant a return to Trent Bridge, where she took a match-winning eight-wicket haul in last summer's Ashes Test.

Ashleigh Gardner became only the second woman to pick up eight wickets in a Test innings

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Getty Images

"What we've seen over the last few seasons is how successful it's been. I know in Australia we're pretty jealous of the crowds that they get. It just shows where women's cricket is at the moment in this country: it's going in leaps and bounds in the right direction, and it's awesome to see fans turn out. I haven't played at Headingley or in Manchester before, so that is super exciting."

Gardner believes that Australian cricket - which sees the WBBL played in a standalone window at the start of the summer - could learn from the Hundred. "When the WBBL was in its infancy, we used to play some double-headers, which I really love. It's a one-club mentality, when you get to play before the men. Obviously here, they do it so well.

"I can potentially see it changing again in Australia: in terms of crowds and being able to get the fans involved, it probably will end up going towards that. Some people are strongly opinionated on that not happening, so the women have free reign in that space of the year. But I think in terms of growing the brand, the men do a fantastic job and hopefully we can leverage that."

Gardner has played for Sydney Sixers since the WBBL's inception, but has only represented them at their official 'home' ground - the SCG - once since 2018. The WBBL has trimmed its fixture list this year, from 56 regular-season games to 40, and will stage more matches at major stadiums after using smaller venues in recent seasons.

"It was obviously disappointing [in the past] not to be able to play at a place like the SCG," Gardner says. "Not being able to use that venue was pretty sad. But going to a few more big venues this year, and cutting down the games as well… hopefully, that brings out the best cricket, because players know that they'll have four less games to compete in."

More immediately, Gardner's focus is on helping the Rockets recover from a slow start and reach the knockout stages of the Hundred. "As an international player, there's always that expectation. You're picked up for a reason, and it's about making sure I'm a good team-mate as well. Hopefully, that leads to success on the field.

"And then I guess just having in the back of my mind the World Cup, which actually isn't that far away. It's going to be polar opposite conditions, but if my processes stay the same, there's no reason why I can't be successful - both for myself, and for my team going into that World Cup for Australia."