Cricket Australia will retain Ashley Gardner as vice-captain of the Australia women’s national team, but has made assurances about her involvement in selection discussions following public revelations of her relationship with teammate Georgia Foale.
CA CEO Todd Greenberg said the board discussed Gardner’s position at its meeting Wednesday and remained “very supportive” of her leadership role. However, the organization has updated its Respect at Work policy to address potential conflicts that may involve players in leadership positions.
“The matter was discussed yesterday at the board level,” Greenberg said. “The board has requested an update on that, which we have provided, and the result of that is that the board is very supportive of Ash in the role he has been appointed to as vice captain. [there’s] Much respect to Ash.
“We have a respect policy at work. [to] For which we have now put some additional measures into effect. Because we want to make sure that the perception or the real conflict in the selections – even though the vice captain has no say in the selections in the team – the leadership role and influence that that person might have to put guardrails around how the policy works. “Apart from that, we considered it a personal matter.”
Asked if that meant Gardner would have to recuse herself from discussions regarding Foale’s place in the team or the lineup, including conversations with selectors and captain Sophie Molyneux, Greenberg confirmed, “That’s true. And we think that’s important. Even if there’s no conflict, even if there’s a noticeable level of conflict, not just from the outside, but from other teammates or from staff.”
“We’re in a tough spot here because, like all sports, we’re all learning a little bit about how these high-performance environments work. So we want to make sure our policies are in line with the facts, and I think that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Greenberg asserted that California was aware of Gardner’s relationship with Fall before it became public. Gardner’s wife, Monica Wright, criticized the organization for remaining silent about Gardner’s position after the relationship became public and the couple’s marriage collapsed.
Gardner addressed the matter publicly on Thursday, saying her relationship status should be addressed by CA because of her leadership position.
“Although my separation from my wife is a personal matter, I understand that my current relationship status needs to be addressed by Cricket Australia given my position as vice-captain,” Gardner wrote on Instagram. “I am grateful that the CA Board of Directors has chosen to support my continued leadership. I look forward to playing a strong role as a leader and providing the best possible support to my teammates next season.”
“I am grateful for the time Monica and I shared and I apologize for the pain this incident has caused. I wish her nothing but happiness and success in the future.
“I will not be making any further public comment on this matter at this time and ask that the privacy of participants be respected.”
