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Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner picked up the ICC Player of the Month award for February 2023 among women players, announced the governing body of the sport on Monday.
Ashleigh Gardner was the catalyst behind Australia's success in the recently-concluded ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, beat tough competition from South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt and England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt. The Australia all-rounder was at her brilliant best for much of February and was a major reason why her side managed to claim a third straight T20 World Cup title and their sixth title overall. Gardner not only scored an impressive 110 runs at an average of 36.66 during the tournament with the best score of 31, but the 25-year-old also picked up 10 valuable wickets with her off-spin to deservedly win the Player of the Tournament award. She also emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Gardner's best performance with the ball came against New Zealand when she collected the superb figures of 5/12, while scores of 31 and 29 in the semi-final and final respectively were among her best efforts with the bat. Her exploits helped Australia clinch their sixth ICC Women's T20 World Cup title and also led to her winning the Player of the Month award for the second time in three months. She was also voted the ICC Women's Player of the Month in December 2022. After winning the award, Gardner stated, "Thank you to everyone who voted me the ICC Women's Player of the Month. The past month has been ground-breaking for women's cricket and it's an exciting time for our sport." "The T20 World Cup was a brilliant tournament, and playing the hosts South Africa in the Final in front of a packed crowd at Newlands was an incredible experience." "Our Australian team are fortunate to have a number of world-class players, I am happy I was able to contribute to our team success over the course of the World Cup," concluded Gardner. (ANI)
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