Sydney opera house, Performing arts centre in Sydney, Australia

Canberra, Jan 29 Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who was named winner of the Belinda Clark Award on Saturday, said that becoming a mature person off the field has had an impact on her on-field performances. Winning the award made the 24-year-old the first Indigenous player to be named Australia's best female cricketer based on performances in the past 12 months."I've certainly grown up both on and off the field. I think maturing off the field probably has an impact on my game on the field. I feel really comfortable within this side. I've known what my role has been and I've been really clear in the direction that I need to do with either bat or ball in hand," Ashleigh was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.Ashleigh's performances for Australia were impressive, scoring 281 runs, including four half-centuries in ten innings at an average of 35.1 and taking nine wickets across all formats. But it was her bounceback after a lean Women's Big Bash League season, making just 197 runs in 12 innings, including four consecutive ducks.A trip to Australia's sports psychologist and a break after the WBBL ended helped Ashleigh bounce back with a 57 in the first innings and 1/27 with the ball in the ongoing lone Test of the women's Ashes at Manuka Oval."You can find yourself in some pretty dark places when you aren't in the best form. And that was certainly me. I can openly admit that my mental health probably wasn't great. But I think it's good for people's careers to go on that slight decline to then actually find the confidence again and find the rhythm back in your batting."Ashleigh admitted that she was nervous about going into the women's Ashes. "Being able to go back into the (NSW) Breakers set up around a different bunch of girls was really instrumental to actually feel confident again. I was certainly really nervous going into this series (but) having the backing of all my teammates, and all the staff was really important to (help) find that confidence."With the women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand coming after the women's Ashes, Ashleigh hopes the learnings from challenges in the last few months will keep her in good stead. "It's always challenging. This next little period is going to be another stint away from home. But I'm lucky to have my partner on tour with me this time, to keep me grounded and (to spend time with) off the field as well, rather than just thinking about cricket 24/7 I think that's the most important thing.""Everything's a lesson in a way and it wasn't fantastic at the time, what I was going through, but just knowing that that was such a challenge and knowing the things that I can overcome (is helpful)."Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Sydney Opera HouseFOLLOW

Sydney opera house, Latest News

Canberra, Jan 30 Australia skipper Meg Lanning said the declaration after batting for 64 overs was to have ... ...

Sydney, Jan 30 Former Australia captain Ian Chappell said England Test captain Joe Root is a fine batter ... ...

The one-off Test between Australia and England in the Women's Ashes ended as a draw here at the Manuka Oval on Sunday. The hosts fell just one wicket short of bowling out England in the fourth innings while the visitors fell 12-run short of chasing d ...

Sydney, Jan 30 Former Australia cricketer Ian Chappell feels Virat Kohli lifted India to success in overseas conditions ... ...

Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell has said that Virat Kohli was an exception as a captain as he did not curb his enthusiasm as the leader of the Men in Blue. ...

Canberra, Jan 29 In a touching gesture, former woman cricketer Mel Jones on Saturday gifted a brand new ... ...

After being crowned as the Allan Border medallist, Australia pacer Mitchell Starc on Saturday admitted that there have been times in the past couple of years where he wanted to stop playing the game. ...

Canberra, Jan 29 Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who was named winner of the Belinda Clark Award on Saturday, ... ...