13 March - Wellington - Australia player Ashleigh Gardner post-match press conference
Reporter: Just in terms of the first innings, do you think you had enough runs on the board?
Ashleigh Gardner: Yeah, I think so. While I was sitting off waiting to go in, we thought at one point probably 240 was going to be a really good score. It obviously looked pretty tough early to get going. I think we're going at threes most of the innings and then Pez and Moon set a really good platform for the team and Tahlia McGrath to go in. And then once they kind of played really freely that obviously gave me the freedom to go out there and score some quick runs and yeah, it was I think 270 was a really good score on that wicket, with the wind as well - that played a major part of it as well.
Reporter: Obviously your bowlers came to the party in a big way and I think by the finish it's your biggest win over New Zealand in a World Cup and second biggest in history. What do you think that says about how you guys are tracking?
Ash: Yeah, I think Pez and Darcy set the tone perfectly at the top of the bowling innings. I don't think I've ever seen Darci bowl that well to be honest, and to take three poles and three really key wickets as well. Just shows where her game is at the moment and I think with the wind behind her she was probably bowling five K's quicker as well and it just seemed probably too fast for them at some points. Yeah, I just think they set the tone early and taking early wickets with this team is really key. Obviously they're quite top heavy with some really big names. So yeah taking two or three in the powerplay. Yeah, it's pretty crucial.
Reporter: So you've won 32 of your past 33 ODI’s or something like that - Is there a wee bit of a case at the moment of the only thing that can beat your is yourselves in terms of complacency?
Ash: I think we're always striving to get better and one of our values is being able to evolve as players and as a team as well. I think we're never happy I guess with our performances and I guess that's the beauty of this team is we're always trying to get better and I think teams are capable, obviously of beating us but I think where we are at the moment. Yeah, maybe complacency is the thing that might get us undone but in saying - I think the depth that we have in Australian cricket at the moment is second to none. We can bat basically down to number 11 and be really comfortable for those players to be scoring some really good runs. So yeah, I want to say that no one can beat us but that's probably a little bit arrogant. So yeah, I just say that we're just always looking to be better as a team.
Reporter: Can I take you back 11 days. What did you think when you saw that little line saying you were positive for COVID?
Ash: I probably won't repeat what I said. I sent a photo to the doctor and basically said, I've got some bad news. And he pretty much replied, yeah, that's bad news. So I was like, Okay, great. And I had to do a second rap and those lines came up even clearer. So yeah, there was a lot of emotions, probably that first half an hour. Knowing that that would mean that I'd miss two or three games. And I'm not a good watcher of cricket – or watching my side play cricket. And yeah, that first game against England was really hard to watch. But yeah, I guess I just had to try and stay as positive as possible. At times. It was hard. I was certainly getting over it. But yeah, coming out today and getting a win with my team. Yeah, I guess just - it was a good time to reset in some regards. But yeah, it was just a bit of bad luck. I guess.
Reporter: You were quite active in sending some feedback from watching those games, though. And if you wouldn't mind, just sharing how sick you actually were. If that's not too personal.
Ash: Yeah. I was pretty lucky. Really. My first symptom was just having a sore throat and I guess that was - we were having to rap everyday anyway, and I was trying to blame the air con at the start with a sore throat, but then obviously when that came back, I was like, Okay, this is probably not ideal. And then I just had a consistent headache probably for about a week and then from a week onwards to the end of the isolation period, I felt back to normal. And obviously today was always going to be a test with how I was going to feel. I think early on, I was getting a little bit puffed running on the boundary, but the main thing out of the game was I just felt like I had a really heavy chest at points, which is quite a weird feeling, but other than that, I'm feeling pretty good.
Reporter: Can you talk us through how you can sort of spend 10 days locked up in a hotel room and then play one of the great blazing innings in the World Cup?
Ash: I guess there's a lot of confidence involved. My first training session yesterday I hit the ball pretty badly and yeah, I was pretty frustrated with that preparation going into today and Motty was just telling me like just take the confidence out of what you were doing before he went into that isolation period. And I just tried to do that. And I think the platform that the girls set for me to go out there with was really good, and I just had that freedom to I guess play the natural game that I play and take the balls on and yeah, I guess it was one of those innings that sometimes comes off and sometimes doesn't - so I'm certainly not saying that it was the 10 days isolation that's done that, but I guess it was a good period just to reset and recharge.
Reporter: I just wanted to ask - the last time you know Australia were here with Darcie Brown. How much she has grown in the last 12 months or so, especially from being active as a bowler to see how she's stumped the ball today.
Ash: Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're talking about Darcy. Yeah, I guess with a young quick, you're going to get some really good games out of them, and then sometimes, some inexperienced games and I guess that's the beauty of what Darcy possesses. She's got that raw pace and sometimes scares batters into taking their wickets. But yeah, I think today, she controlled the ball beautifully. She bowled really nice outswing and a couple of times she was unlucky not to take the edge of Susie's bat. But yeah, I guess just shows the growth that she's had over the past 12 months stemming back from WBBL - obviously that was where she was recognized first, and I think most of the times that she's pulled on this Australian jersey, she's bowled at a 110% And yet today, she bowled beautifully.
Reporter: Is she the same – bowls with the same kind of intensity and pace with you guys as as well in the nets?
Ash: Yeah. Yeah, she certainly does. And she does like to bowl bumpers as well. So that's always fun to face. Yeah, her and Tay – when Tay is fit, Having two bowlers that bowl over 120 K’s is certainly not fun to face, but yeah, I guess it's good prep for players like Tahuhu or Ismail.
Reporter: My first question is – why do you guys always have to bowl with this intensity in the last five overs? When you guys played last against New Zealand in the World Cup, it was Susie Bates 100th ODI, today it was Katie Martin.
Ash: I mean, it's always good for players to obviously have milestones. But yeah, I just think like I've mentioned before, we're always trying to evolve as a team and I think we're a completely different team to probably what we were in 2017 - There's plenty of fresh faces within this side and I think we've grown after that World Cup - There was certainly a lot of growing to do. And I think where these teams are at the moment, there's some fantastic players sitting on the sidelines, that could fill this team perfectly and play a huge role. So I think yeah, just being able to evolve as a team is a huge one for us. And I guess never being happy with where we're at and always striving to be better.
Reporter: I'm sure you aware of the fact that there's a T-shirt made in your honor – you, Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes you were part of that 26 win streak – are you aware that there's a t-shirt made in your honor?
Ash: I have seen it on Twitter, I think once or twice. Yeah, it was pretty cool to be a part of that streak and hopefully we can hold that streak for a very long time but yeah, to be one of those four players that actually got to play every single game was certainly something that was pretty cool to be a part of.
Reporter: Given that you had the 10 days off, did your batting innings give you some confidence going into the bowling innings and how you're going to bowl?
Ash: Yes, certainly. I think being an all-rounder, you can obviously take confidence out of whatever skill you've done first, and yes, I guess there was a bit of luck involved with my batting innings. The breeze was quite strong and I probably didn't middle all of my shots, but sometimes that's the beauty of cricket. You don't always have to be perfect and I certainly did try to take the confidence out of what I was doing with the bat in hand and I guess, trying to come up with a plan to not bowl I guess what was easy to hit. The first over obviously didn't go the way that I would have liked but I felt like I pegged it back in and I guess stuck to my plans and just try to bowl into the wicket and make it as hard as possible to try and hit me back over my head.