Gardner, who missed Australia\u2019s previous match after suffering an ankle injury, played a key role in helping the six-time champions post 219\/6, matching the highest total in Women\u2019s T20 World Cup history. She shared a match-defining partnership with Beth Mooney, who top-scored with 74 before retiring hurt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always nice to be able to spend some time out in the middle. I felt like it was a bit of a missed opportunity in that first game, and then obviously missed the second game. So, yeah, plenty of time to spend out in the middle, and had a really good partnership with Beth Mooney, which is really nice,\u201d Gardner said after the innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The all-rounder also provided an update on her fitness, brushing aside concerns over the ankle problem that kept her out of Australia\u2019s previous fixture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAnkle\u2019s good. Very much strapped. Yeah, it was just a bit of an accident, walking at least. But yeah, we don\u2019t need to talk too much about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gardner revealed that Australia\u2019s approach against a relatively unfamiliar Netherlands attack was to remain simple and react to each ball on its merits. She credited Mooney\u2019s experience for helping maintain clarity during their aggressive stand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe obviously don\u2019t know the Dutch girls that well, so it\u2019s basically taking every ball as it comes, making sure that we\u2019re not overthinking the scenario. And I guess being able to talk with Beth Mooney out there, she\u2019s got so much experience, and we kind of just said to reset every ball.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAnd if a ball was in our area, just making sure that we were fully committed to it. So yeah, it was nice to be able to have a big partnership, put our team in a really good position, and then obviously seeing what Georgia Wareham can do at the end and absolutely hit the ball everywhere. So yeah, it was a really nice time to be out in the middle,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia\u2019s total was further boosted by Georgia Wareham\u2019s explosive 41 off just 18 balls, while Annabel Sutherland added a late cameo as the defending champions finished with a daunting score on the board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gardner believes Australia\u2019s bowlers are well equipped to defend the massive total and backed both the pace and spin departments to finish the job.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia\u2019s total was further boosted by Georgia Wareham\u2019s explosive 41 off just 18 balls, while Annabel Sutherland added a late cameo as the defending champions finished with a daunting score on the board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia will now look to complete a dominant all-round performance as they seek to maintain their unbeaten start to the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n