Original Sixers: 150 and counting for Perry and Gardner -

When Ashleigh Gardner was unveiled as the sixth player to join the Sydney Sixers for the inaugural WBBL season in 2015, she said the chance to play alongside her idols was behind her decision to choose the club.

Namely, inaugural Sixers captain Ellyse Perry.

“I do look up to Pez, she’s a very good player,” a then-18-year-old Gardner said at the time. “All the girls who have been joining the Sixers, some of them are my idols.”

Twelve seasons later, Gardner is now the captain of the Sixers and still playing alongside Perry.

Fittingly, the foundation Sixers pair – the only remaining members of their WBBL|01 squad – are playing their 150th WBBL matches in the space of four days, with Gardner reaching the milestone in Thursday night’s win over the Renegades.

Perry will play game No.150 on Sunday, also against the Renegades.

“It’s really cool to be here since WBBL|01, from an 18-year-old who swung for the hills to be in the position I’m in now,” Gardner said ahead of Thursday’s game. “To play for the Sixers for 150 games is certainly something I’m really proud of, I absolutely love this club.

“It’s an absolute honour to be able to lead this side and hopefully play quite a few more.”

These days, the pair stand side-by-side in the Australian squad as two of the world’s leading allrounders.

Gardner’s development into an international player ran parallel with the early years of the WBBL, and it was her form throughout the first two seasons that saw her break into the Australian squad in early 2017, shortly after she had helped the Sixers claim their first WBBL title.

The Sixers celebrate winning WBBL|02 at the WACA Ground // Getty

In WBBL|02, Gardner was a walking highlights reel, dispatching a delivery out of North Sydney Oval – off the bowling of national skipper Sophie Molineux – against the Melbourne Renegades and snaring a brilliant one-handed return catch in the semi-final against Hobart Hurricanes.

Gardner reflected during that season on the importance of WBBL form in gaining international selection, pointing to Lauren Cheatle and Naomi Stalenberg as examples from WBBL|01.

“You could look at players like that that had a good start to the WBBL season and next thing you know they’re in Australian colours,” Gardner said. “I think it’s something that all players who aren’t in the Australian side are probably thinking about.”

After making her white-ball debuts in 2017, Gardner enhanced her reputation the following summer when she smashed her first Big Bash century, a blazing 114 from just 52 balls at North Sydney Oval.

The 29-year-old has evolved in the years since into one of the world’s top allrounders. Her off-spin took over as the stronger of her two suits for time. However, Gardner’s batting in the last two years has again caught up, with her T20I form in particular flourishing in 2026.

Gardner smashes epic century to save Sixers from 3-6 start

In WBBL|12 Gardner is on song in both facets of her game. At the end of the Sixers’ win over the Renegades at Junction Oval, she was presented with the Golden Arm cap as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. She is also in contention for the Golden Bat, following her career-high 124 against the Hobart Hurricanes, coupled with her stunning 64no off 25 against the Thunder.

For Sixers fans, this bodes very well.

It’s no surprise that Gardner’s three best seasons with the bat have also been years the Sixers made the final, in WBBL|02, |03 and |08. Even though her bowling has generally been consistent – and her stronger skillset – for the last five seasons, it’s her batting that has been the difference between the club missing finals, or going deep into the season.

Gardner is the X-factor that complements Perry’s remarkable consistency – helped of course, by a list that has talent and depth in every direction.

“She’s an exceptional cricketer, firstly,” Sixers allrounder Melie Kerr said of Gardner. “One of the best in the world at what she does.

“I think having her as a leader of this side – we’ve seen in this tournament so far, she’s stood up and led the way with both bat and ball.

“But also, it’s just been great getting to know her off the field, getting to build a friendship with her. She’s a quality person, and she brings great energy to the team, and she’s very competitive when we’re out there.

“She wants to lead from the front. When you’ve got someone of her class and her skill, she bats, bowls, she’s good in the field, she’s fit.

“You want people striving to be of that quality. But also, I think she’s a real thinker of the game as well.

“When you’ve got someone that’s ruthless, I think it’s a really great leader to follow.”

When Perry was unveiled as the Sixers’ first signing at a launch on Sydney Harbour in July 2015, she had already forged a reputation as one of the world’s leading allrounders. Over the 12 years since, her all-round feats have ensured she will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Ellyse Perry and the original WBBL signings in 2015 // Getty

But Perry, too, has evolved alongside the WBBL. In one sense, the 36-year-old has been a pillar of consistency throughout the 12 seasons – a feat that only Beth Mooney can lay equal claim to – but the allrounder’s Big Bash career goes beyond the sheer weight of runs.

In WBBL|01, she was eight years into her international career but a rookie captain, leading a team for the first time.

It took Perry and her teammates a bit to find their feet in that first season, losing their opening six matches before a remarkable turnaround that saw the Sixers ‘go vertical’ and win nine on the trot to make the final, and ultimately, lose a thriller to the Thunder.

Perry had been instrumental in that revival, scoring 430 runs and taking eight wickets.

They made amends the following season, lifting the trophy at the WACA Ground despite losing Perry to a hamstring injury late in the tournament. Again, the Sixers captain led the way for her team, 384 runs alongside her five wickets.

When they went back-to-back in WBBL|03, Perry hit a staggering 779 runs at 86.44. And she was in the middle with Gardner when the winning runs were scored in the final at Adelaide Oval.

Perry and Gardner embrace after sealing the WBBL|03 title // Getty

Perry’s evolution as a T20I batter across the last five years following her surprise axing from the shortest format has been well documented, and as she’s levelled up in the national side, so too has she elevated her game in the WBBL.

Across the first seven Big Bash seasons, Perry averaged 50.16 with the bat but struck at 102.75. That was par in the early days of the WBBL, where the average innings total was around 120. But as women’s cricket in Australia, and internationally, grew more professional the game also developed, with 150-plus totals increasingly becoming the norm.

To keep up, Perry had to evolve.

In 2022, she hit 408 runs for the Sixers at a rate of 119.64. It was enough to regain her spot in the Aussie T20I XI, and only started to set the tone for the Big Bash seasons to come.

Since WBBL|08, Perry’s 1987 runs have come at an impressive average of 49.35 but are now coupled with a damaging strike rate of 131.51. In WBBL|11, having handed over the captaincy to Gardner after 10 years at the helm, she averaged 51.5 and struck at 141.

In-form Perry raises the bat at North Sydney

She briefly slipped down the order at the Sixers in 2022 as they experimented with different combinations, but reclaimed her opening spot a season later and has remained there since.

Perry bowls less these days, but still chips in when required, and continues to set the tone in the field.

“It’s hard to put into words the cricketer and the person Pez is,” Kerr said of Perry. “I think with women’s cricket, she’s been seen as the GOAT. The greatest of all time for what she’s achieved and what she’s done for the game.

“I haven’t seen anyone work as hard as she has with her skills. How she approaches her game, it’s so impressive to do it for such a long period of time.

“I think the most impressive thing is how she’s reinvented her game. The game keeps evolving, and she keeps evolving.

“Also as a person, you can’t ever say a bad word about her. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about her, and she’s kind and she gets around the group.”

Weber WBBL|12 Standings

Round 1

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Net Run Rate NRR	Total points PTS
1 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	5	5	0	1.469	10
2 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	5	5	0	1.156	10
3 Brisbane Heat Women HEA	5	3	2	0.092	6
4 Sydney Thunder Women THU	5	2	3	0.215	4
5 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	4	2	2	-0.35	4
6 Melbourne Renegades Women REN	5	2	3	-0.528	4
7 Melbourne Stars Women STA	6	1	5	-0.602	2
8 Hobart Hurricanes Women HUR	5	0	5	-1.25	0