The latest wave of international women’s signings for The Hundred have been announced today with Australia’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup-winning-all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner signing for Birmingham Phoenix.
Gardner is the second overseas player confirmed for Birmingham Phoenix, joining New Zealander Sophie Devine, who currently sits top of the ICC T20I world rankings for all-rounders.
Ashleigh is a very versatile cricketer who can come in early in a powerplay and showed in the ICC T20 World Cup that she can also come in at the end of an innings, with the field spread, and clear the ropes because she’s so strong. She also adds a huge amount with the ball.
Ben Sawyer
Ben Sawyer, Head Coach for Birmingham Phoenix women’s team, said: “Ashleigh is a very versatile cricketer who can come in early in a powerplay and showed in the ICC T20 World Cup that she can also come in at the end of an innings, with the field spread, and clear the ropes because she’s so strong. She also adds a huge amount with the ball.
“We’ve got one more international spot to fill, which is a pretty good place to be, having watched the World Cup so closely with Australia to see who would suit our style of play. I’m really happy with our position and the current make-up of our squad.”
Each team in The Hundred is permitted to sign up to three overseas players within a 15-strong squad, which will be completed with domestic talent in early July. For full squad information for each team head to www.thehundred.com.
Fellow internationals who join Gardner and Devine at Birmingham Phoenix are England players Amy Jones, Georgia Elwiss and Kirstie Gordon alongside local Warwickshire stars Marie Kelly, Issy Wong, Ria Fackrell and Eve Jones.
Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred – Women’s Competition, said: “The competition is really building momentum, and it’s very exciting to see the growing list of world class talent involved across the eight teams.
“We’ve now confirmed the names of 18 overseas players who will compete in the women’s competition, including the likes of Meg Lanning, Suzie Bates, Stafanie Taylor and Lizelle Lee; with six still to go, the standard of cricket is set to be very high.”
Gardner’s announcement is one of five signings to be revealed today in The Hundred, with fellow Australians Nicola Carey joining Northern Superchargers and Beth Mooney joining Welsh Fire. Semi-finalists South Africa provide two further signings, with all-rounders Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon joining Oval Invincibles and London Spirit respectively.
