Australia women’s vice-captain Ashleigh Gardner has opened up about the pain caused by her marriage breakdown amid allegations of an affair made public by her ex-wife Monica Wright.
Wright slammed Cricket Australia (CA) for inaction over the cricketer’s alleged affair with teammate Georgia Voll.
“I think if you’re privileged enough to represent your country and be seen as a role model, there’s a responsibility to hold yourself to a high moral standard,” Wright told Code Sports.
“What I can’t understand is why Cricket Australia hasn’t said anything publicly.
Taking to Instagram, Gardner addressed her affair and the hierarchy in the team.
“While my separation from my wife is a personal matter, I understand my current relationship status needed to be addressed by Cricket Australia given my position as vice-captain,” Gardner wrote on her Instagram story.
“I am grateful that the CA Board has chosen to support my continued leadership. I look forward to playing a strong role as a leader and providing the best possible support for my teammates in the season to come.
“I am grateful for the time Monica and I shared and sorry for the pain this has caused. I wish her nothing but happiness and success in the future.
“I won’t be making any further public comment on this matter at this time and ask that the privacy of those involved is respected.”
Highly regarded leader
Speaking to SEN on the sidelines of the Australia-Bangladesh men’s Test match in Darwin, CA CEO Todd Greenberg backed Gardner’s position in the women’s side.
“Ash is a highly regarded leader in our system. The CA board make leadership decisions and have oversight over all leadership decisions,” Greenberg said.
“Ash is our vice-captain for a reason, because she’s highly regarded, but what we will do is in situations where there are personal relationships is make sure there are additional guardrails, so the perception of conflict or conflict itself – talking about things like selection – are handled appropriately and respectfully.”
“We’ve got policies in place but we will put additional ones in place given Ash is now vice-captain. If there are relationships that have been disclosed and they have been, then we will make sure that conflict – perceived or real – around selections are removed, so Ash is not involved in those things.”
Greenberg said the Gardner and Voll’s relationship was “new news” in the media. “But for those that were in the team and leading the team, we’ve been well across this for a period of time,” he added.