Monica Wright has called for her ex-wife, Australian cricket star Ashleigh Gardner, to lose her leadership roles following allegations of an affair with teammate Georgia Voll. Wright, 30, broke her silence over the collapse of her seven-month marriage to 29-year-old Gardner, who serves as vice-captain of Australia's women's team and captains the Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League.
Wright alleges Gardner had an affair with 22-year-old fellow Australian player Georgia Voll during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in India last year. Neither Gardner nor Voll has publicly responded to the allegations.
Wright questioned why Cricket Australia allowed Gardner to retain senior leadership positions after the governing body became aware of the situation. "I think if you're privileged enough to represent your country and be seen as a role model, there's a responsibility to hold yourself to a high moral standard," Wright told The Daily Telegraph.
"What I can't understand is why Cricket Australia hasn't said anything publicly," Wright said. "Does their silence mean they support the actions of Ashleigh and Georgia? Captains are expected to set the standard, and that kind of conduct falls well short of it."
Comparison to Australian men's team
Wright claimed the controversy would have been treated more seriously if it had involved members of the Australian men's team. She pointed to the treatment of late cricket legend Shane Warne, who was removed as vice-captain of the Australian men's team in 2000 following reports that he sent explicit messages to a British nurse.
Cricket Australia rejected the suggestion that it failed to address the situation, stating that safeguards were introduced to manage relationships within the organisation. "Cricket Australia ensures all relationships within our workforce comply with our Respect at Work policy," the governing body said in a statement. "This includes putting appropriate conflict-of-interest management arrangements in place to support leadership responsibilities and maintain the integrity of team processes. Otherwise, we consider this to be a personal and private matter."
Cricket Australia did not directly answer questions about whether the leadership positions of Gardner, who was named Women's ODI Player of the Year, were under review. When contacted by The Daily Mail for comment and clarification, Cricket Australia senior communications chief Richard Hinds, a respected former Fairfax sportswriter, said: "Yeah, no comment on that." Gardner was also contacted for comment.
World Cup tour and relationship collapse
Gardner was appointed co-vice-captain on January 28 alongside Tahlia McGrath, having married her long-term girlfriend Wright in April 2025. Just months later, the marriage began to fall apart while the national team was in India for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. A team source with knowledge of the situation said there was awkwardness during the tour when Wright flew to India to visit her wife.
"It was a little bit weird," the insider said. "It was like something was a little bit off with Ash, but we thought it was because of the pressure of the World Cup." The insider added that it was "just horrible" when Wright arrived in India and Gardner did not seem like herself.
The Daily Mail understands that Gardner and Wright had a heart-to-heart after returning to their Northern Beaches home in Sydney following the World Cup. "When they got home, [Gardner] goes, 'Hey, look, can we talk?' and she sat her down," the source claimed. Gardner allegedly disclosed to Wright why things had been off during her visit to India, leaving Wright shattered and distraught, effectively ending their marriage.
Impact on Southern Stars team
The split was especially devastating for Wright because the couple had been discussing plans to start a family. "They were about to go to the fertility clinic. They had a booking that Monica had to cancel," said the spy. Gardner is understood to have moved out of their shared home in November, while Wright remains in the house.
"Ash left one day. Monica came home and everything of Ash's was gone, except for the rings," the source said. "She left the wedding rings in the cupboard. Just the box of wedding rings, and that was it."
The Daily Mail understands that the marriage breakdown sent shockwaves through the Southern Stars because Wright had been around the team for five years and knew all the players. "Some of them are really good mates, and Monica has a very good relationship with a lot of [players] still. A lot of them are quite upset," the insider added, noting Wright received messages from nearly all the players expressing their distress.
Selection panel disclosure and relationship history
The sport's governing body was apparently aware of the marriage breakdown. A source claimed a disclosure was made to Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel (NSP) when Gardner was appointed captain of the Sydney Sixers in November, shortly after her split from Wright, before she was made co-vice-captain of the national team at the start of the year.
While captaincy meetings were taking place, the insider said Gardner attempted to smooth things over with Wright, but the relationship could not be saved. Gardner and Wright met on a dating app in 2020 and proposed to one another in April 2024. They later tied the knot in a rustic ceremony in the Blue Mountains in April 2025.
