Ash Gardner given concussion green flag after nasty collision with her teammate Georgia Wareham in their game against New Zealand.
Ash Gardner has been declared concussion-free following the all-rounder’s unusual collision with Georgia Wareham prior to Australia’s Twenty20 international match against New Zealand, .
Gardner missed Australia’s series-opening win in Mackay on Thursday night, after she and Wareham clashed heads during a warm-up game.
Wareham also recovered from the knock to play in the five-wicket victory, and he has been ruled out of any concussion symptoms.
The current Belinda Clark Medallist, Gardner, laughed off the situation at first, but then she broke down in tears. Concussions have plagued the 27-year-old throughout her professional career, with seven occurring in her terrible past. Gardner saw a neuropsychologist in 2018 as a result of the problem, having experienced four in a 20-month period.
Gardner will therefore be relieved to hear the news on Saturday, since she and Wareham will get to participate in Sunday’s second Twenty20 match against New Zealand in Mackay.
Ahead of the World Cup in the UAE next month, Australia is also concerned about additional injuries. Grace Harris (calf) and Kim Garth (knee) also missed the New Zealand series.
Beth Mooney, who will pay her 100th T20I in the second match of the series, said Australia would be looking to sharpen up.
“It was a good game for us, not a great one,” Mooney said. “So we’re looking to sharpen up every facet of the game, maybe getting off to a bit of a better start with the bat in terms of wickets lost, and then with the ball, maybe tidying up a few different areas there.
“[New Zealand] got 140 on the board and they perhaps were a few runs short, so we’ll have to adjust tomorrow night if they come out pretty hard.”