Ashleigh Gardner admits she was disappointed to miss out on the Australian captaincy but backed new captain Sophie Molineux as a leader people want to play for.
Gardner was considered the favorite for the top job when Alyssa Healy announced her retirement last month, having previously served as vice-captain.
Tahlia McGrath was emerging as the other main option, having replaced Healy 15 times, only for a run of poor form to leave bigger doubts over her place in the team.
But Molineux emerged as the selectors’ preferred choice to take over, after all three interviewed for the role and set out their vision for the team’s next era.
“There was probably a period where I felt disappointed,” Gardner told AAP.
“They asked me if you want the opportunity to do the interview. And I said, of course.
“A lot of it was about what kind of vision I had for the team. For me it was just about taking responsibility and being a true driver for yourself.”
“But you have this defense mechanism all the time where you don’t want to get too caught up in it anyway.
“Naturally, you’re still going to be disappointed. But I knew there were obviously reasons for that. And I think Soph is going to be amazing.”
Molineux will captain Australia for the first time in Sunday night’s T20 against India at the SCG, before taking up the full-time role in the West Indies next month.
The 28-year-old’s appointment comes at a critical time, after back-to-back World Cup semi-final defeats in the T20 and ODI formats left the Australians without a major world trophy for the first time since 2017.
Molineux’s success in the T20 format was vital to landing the spot, with a World Cup in June and the Victorian captaining Melbourne Renegades to a WBBL title.
Gardner has now also joined McGrath as vice-captain, similar to how Travis Head and Steve Smith share the role on the men’s team.
Either all-rounder is likely to be called upon as captain at different stages as Molineux still suffers from a knee problem that has kept her out for much of the last three years.
“Now it’s about how Soph wants to run the team and then how we can complement her with our strengths,” Gardner said.
“I’ll look for feedback (on the captaincy interview) if I want it, but not necessarily on why I didn’t get it. “It’s more about how I can have an impact on the group in a different space.
“I’m excited to see where Soph takes this side. I know how excited she is and what great qualities she will bring to this team.
“She can bring people together, which is an amazing quality about her. She brings a lot of fun to the group and a lot of energy. So I’m sure a lot of it revolved around that.
“She always puts people first and then talks about them as cricketers. Everyone will love that she is the leader of this team in the future.”
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
Australia T20I Team: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India T20I Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil
February 15: First T20, SCG, 7:15pm AEDT
February 19: Second T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7:15pm AEDT
February 21: Third T20, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm AEDT
Australia ODI Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India ODI Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol
February 24: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 2:50 pm AEDT
February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50 pm AEDT
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50 pm AEDT
Australia Test Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20 pm AEDT (D/N)
