Ashleigh Gardner has revealed she went by way of “dark days” after a social media backlash to her stance on Australia Day.
Gardner took a career-best 5-12 because the all-conquering Australian girls’s cricket workforce opened their T20 World Cup title defence with a commanding 97-run win over New Zealand in Paarl, South Africa.
The 25-year-old offspinner made headlines in January when the proud Indigenous participant went public together with her discomfort over enjoying a T20 worldwide in opposition to Pakistan on Australia Day.
Gardner mentioned it was a “day of hurt and a day of mourning” for Indigenous Australians and never when the nationwide workforce needs to be enjoying.
At the time, teammate Megan Schutt praised Gardner’s braveness and known as her “a tough little cookie” who would climate the inevitable backlash.
But after her player-of-the-match heroics in opposition to New Zealand, Gardner opened up in regards to the aftermath of the controversy.
“Social media has a lot of things,” Gardner mentioned. “And I knew when posting that statement that there was going to be backlash.
“I believe I underestimated how a lot I copped. I strive my greatest not to have a look at all that stuff. But I really feel prefer it’s solely human nature to learn feedback and issues like that.
“But I guess it was a moment where I stuck to my guns and I put that statement out there because that’s what I believed in.
“I simply needed to keep true to what I mentioned. And I assume I’ve simply tried to flip that and switch it right into a constructive and it is sparked conversations.”
Gardner said regardless of the abuse, she has no regrets about making the statement.
“Not everybody’s going to agree with every part that folks say and that is completely high quality. As lengthy as I modified some individuals’s minds about sure issues – whether or not it is social points or not,” she mentioned.
“So, I assume making an attempt to take the arrogance out of that and the assist that I had from my team-mates and assist employees was enormous as a result of it was a few darkish days there the place I used to be like, ‘why did I try this?’
“But knowing that it was for a good cause and then just trying to take that confidence with that going into my cricket as well sticking to my guns with how I play cricket, and then how I act off the field as well, trying to keep them pretty close together.”
Gardner’s delectable change of trajectory in her bowling, on a floor that was used within the England-West Indies fixture earlier in Saturday’s double-header, ensured Australia’s title defence started with enormous momentum.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
