Ashleigh Gardner’s landmark 150th Women’s Big Bash League appearance was fittingly marked by a complete captain’s performance. On 12th November 2026, at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, the 29-year-old Sydney Sixers skipper became the 11th player overall and the first Sydney Sixers player to reach 150 WBBL appearances. Leading her side against Sophie Molineux’s Melbourne Renegades in the 20th match of the 12th edition of the tournament, Gardner contributed with bat and ball as the Sixers secured an 11-run win, their fifth consecutive victory of the campaign.
Gardner won the toss and chose to bat first. Sydney Sixers posted 140/6 in their 20 overs, with Amelia Kerr top-scoring through a brilliant 53 off 34 balls, while Ellyse Perry added a steady 30 from 41 deliveries. Gardner, batting at number three, made 22 from 21 balls, striking two boundaries. The Renegades were then restricted to 129 all out, handing the Sixers an 11-run triumph and extending their winning streak to five matches. With 10 points from five games, Sydney Sixers retained second place on the points table, behind the Perth Scorchers only on net run rate. Kerr’s all-round display earned her the Player of the Match award.
For Gardner, though, the occasion carried deeper significance. Her WBBL journey began on 12th December 2015, when she debuted for the Sydney Sixers against the Perth Scorchers in Perth. More than a decade later, she remains one of only two players, alongside former skipper Ellyse Perry, to have represented the Sixers in every edition since the tournament’s inaugural season in 2015. Having succeeded Perry as the club’s captain from the previous edition, Gardner has become both the face and the driving force of a franchise with a rich WBBL legacy.
The Sydney Sixers have won two WBBL titles, in the second edition in 2016-17 and the third in 2017-18, becoming the first team to successfully defend the title. They have also finished runners-up in the inaugural 2015-16 season, the fourth edition in 2018-19, and the eighth edition in 2022. Gardner’s longevity, consistency, and leadership have been central to that sustained identity.
Ash Gardner’s Sydney Sixers Numbers
Her numbers for the Sixers underline why the milestone feels so deserved. Across 150 matches, Gardner has scored 2,996 runs at an average of 22.87 and a strike rate of 123.95 in 143 innings, including 15 half-centuries and two centuries. Only Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy have scored more runs for the franchise. With the ball, she is the Sixers’ leading wicket-taker, with 132 wickets at an average of 21.23 and an economy rate of 7.20 in 128 innings, alongside six four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.
Her finest batting performance came only days before this milestone. On 1st November 2026, against defending champions Hobart Hurricanes at Sydney, Gardner struck a sensational 124 off 60 balls from number four. Coming in with the Sixers in deep trouble at 2/2 in the second over, she partnered Alice Capsey, who made an unbeaten 54 from 40 balls, in a 176-run fourth-wicket stand. It was the highest fourth-wicket partnership in WBBL history and the second-highest partnership for any wicket in the tournament.
Gardner’s innings, laced with 10 boundaries and nine sixes, powered Sydney Sixers to 196/8 before they bowled the Hurricanes out for 109, winning by 87 runs, the second-biggest victory by runs in WBBL history. That knock also made Gardner the highest individual scorer by a captain in WBBL history, surpassing former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter and Hobart Hurricanes skipper Rachel Priest’s unbeaten 107 off 68 balls against Melbourne Stars in Hobart during the 2021 edition. Gardner also took 3/23 in that match and was named Player of the Match.
Her bowling pedigree is equally impressive. Her best figures for the Sixers came on 9th November 2025 against Perth Scorchers at the WACA, where she claimed 5/15 from four overs as Perth were dismissed for 109. Sydney Sixers chased the target without loss, reaching 112/0 in 12.5 overs for a 10-wicket win. Across the eighth and ninth editions in 2022 and 2023, Gardner took a combined 44 wickets in 29 innings, including three four-wicket hauls.
Ash Gardner’s WBBL 12 Season
In the ongoing 12th edition, which runs from 29th October to 5th December 2026, Gardner has been outstanding. She leads the tournament’s wicket-taking charts with 11 wickets at an average of 12.27 and an economy of 8.43 in five matches. With the bat, she is the Sixers’ leading run-scorer and the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer, with 246 runs at a strike rate of 184.96 and an average of 61.50, including a half-century and a century.
Against the Renegades, Gardner again showcased her all-round value, returning figures of 3/13 from three overs. She removed Georgia Wareham for 17, Chloe Tryon for a duck, and Deandra Dottin for 4, applying sustained pressure during the chase. It was a fitting way to celebrate 150 appearances: not merely by reaching the number, but by shaping the result.
Sydney Sixers will now meet Melbourne Renegades again on 15th November 2026 at North Sydney Oval in the 23rd match of the tournament, beginning at 5:30 AM IST. For Gardner, the next chapter of a remarkable WBBL story is already well underway.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.