Australia add selection safeguards around Gardner after Voll relationship

Cricket Australia will retain Ashleigh Gardner as Australia women's vice-captain but has introduced safeguards around her involvement in selection discussions following the public disclosure of her relationship with teammate Georgia Voll.

CA chief executive Todd Greenberg said the board discussed Gardner's position at its meeting on Wednesday and remained “very supportive” of her leadership role. However, the organisation has updated its Respect at Work policy to address potential conflicts involving players in leadership positions.

“It was discussed yesterday at the board level,” Greenberg said. “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 role as she was appointed to the vice-captaincy, [there's] huge and high regard for Ash.

“We've got a Respect at Work policy, [to] which we've now put some additional measures in place. Because we want to make sure that either the perception or the real conflict of selections – even though the vice-captain doesn't have a say in selections in the team – the leadership role and the influence that person might have to put guard rails in about how the policy works. Outside of that, we've deemed it a personal matter.”

Asked whether that meant Gardner would have to recuse herself from discussions involving Voll's place in the squad or XI, including conversations with selectors and captain Sophie Molineux, Greenberg confirmed, “That's right. And we think that's important. Even if there's not a conflict, even if there's a perceived level of conflict, not just from the outside, but from other team-mates or from staff.

“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. So 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.”

CA had been aware of Gardner's relationship with Voll before it became public, Greenberg confirmed. Gardner's wife, Monica Wright, had criticised the organisation for remaining silent on Gardner's position after the relationship became public and the couple's marriage broke down.

Gardner addressed the matter publicly on Thursday, saying her relationship status had to be addressed by CA because of her leadership position.

“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 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.

“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.”

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