Ash Gardner issues apology to ex-wife Monica amid marriage breakdown; retains Australian vice-captaincy

Australian vice-captain Ash Gardner will have to step out of any conversations relating to the selection of Georgia Voll in the squad, despite being endorsed by Cricket Australia (CA) to keep her leadership role amid her marriage breakdown.

Gardner broke her silence for the first time since allegations she had an affair with Voll were published by her ex-wife Monica on social media.

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CA held talks about Gardner’s position as vice-captain after the claims were published. The all-rounder noted that conversation needed to happen.

“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,” she said in a statement posted on Instagram.

“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.”

Gardner said she was “sorry for the pain” she had caused for Monica and added she hopes she has a life of “happiness and success in the future”.

She added that she will not make any further comments publicly on the matter.

Still, the conflict, either perceived or actual, had to be acknowledged by CA and its chief executive Todd Greenberg, who has made sure all communications on the matter are handled transparently among the group and organisation.

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And even though Gardener is not a selector for the national team, her part in leadership meetings and consultations about final selections have been redefined.

“It wasn’t debated, but it was discussed yesterday at the board level,” Greenberg said of the situation when speaking with The Age on Thursday.

“The board asked for an update on it, which we provided, and the outcome of that is the board are very supportive of Ash in the vice captaincy.

“We’ve got a respect at work policy, which we’ve now put some additional measures in place ...”

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Greenberg confirmed that includes Gardner having no influence over decisions of Voll in any team selections in future.

“Even if there’s not a conflict, even if there’s a perceived level of conflict, not just from the outside, but from other teammates or from staff,” he continued.

“We’re in some difficult territory here because, like all sports, we’re all learning a little bit about how these high-performance environments can operate.

“We want to be making sure that our policies are keeping up with the realities, and I think that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

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