St Kitts, April 2 (IANS) Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has stressed the importance of maintaining momentum as the team targets a clean sweep in the ODI series against the West Indies, with the final match set to be played here on Thursday, and said that the team’s sole aim when they put on the jersey is to win ‘as many games’ for their country.
Having already secured the series with consecutive wins in the first two ODIs, Australia have been dominant throughout the Caribbean tour, earlier registering a 3-0 whitewash in the T20I leg as well.
The ongoing series serves as their final international assignment before the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, making the last ODI a crucial opportunity to sign off on a high.
Gardner emphasised that the team remains focused on delivering a complete performance in the final fixture rather than easing off after sealing the series.
“Whenever we pull on this jersey we want to win as many games for our country as possible and I guess coming to the closing parts of the season we’re all super excited to I guess finish on a high knowing that we do have a big break before we get into what’s going to be a hectic summer ahead,” Gardner said ahead of the third ODI.
“Our focus is definitely on making sure that we are super clinical in the way that we finish the season and then just making sure that you know we’re celebrating those sort of successes that we’ve had along the season too, looking forward to what’s going to be a huge couple of months,” she added.
Gardner’s Caribbean tour has had mixed results personally. The 28-year-old missed a few T20I matches because of a hamstring injury but has since come back and made a strong impact with the ball in the ODI series.
The series has also marked a transition period for Australia, with Gardner working closely alongside new captain Sophie Molineux in her role as vice-captain.
“It’s been really good obviously working under Soph for the first time. It has been a lot of fun she brings a lot of fun to this group and a lot of energy which is really cool to see. I think if you know Soph you obviously know the enjoyment that she has off the field and she certainly brought that into her leadership as well with a lot of care about her teammates,” Gardner noted.
“Going forward we want to make sure that we work together as well as possible there’s been a lot of change whether that’s players or staff members and just trying to I guess nut out what we want to do as a leadership group and then have the most influence over the whole playing squad so it’s exciting to see where this group can go,” she added.
The ongoing ODI series is part of the ICC Women’s Championship cycle, where Australia have continued their unbeaten run with two victories already against the Windies, underlining their strong form ahead of a packed international calendar.
–IANS
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