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AAP
AAP
Scott Bailey

Aussies confident Gardner will get up for second T20I

Ash Gardner (C) has been cleared of concussion and is available for the second T20 game against NZ. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

Australia will assess Ashleigh Gardner again before their second Twenty20 against New Zealand, after she passed initial concussion tests two days after a bizarre head knock.

Gardner missed Australia's series-opening win in Mackay on Thursday night, after she and spinner Georgia Wareham clashed heads during a warm-up game with a vortex.

Wareham recovered to play in the five-wicket victory, but the Aussies took a cautious approach on Gardner given a history of seven concussions in her professional career.

Both Wareham and Gardner trained as usual on Saturday and showed no signs of delayed onset concussion, but will be looked at again on Sunday before that night's match.

Gardner, the reigning Belinda Clark Medallist, initially laughed off the incident before leaving the ground in tears.

The 27-year-old's history of concussions prompted her to see a neuropsychologist in 2018, after suffering four in the space of 20 months.

The initial clearance on Saturday will therefore come as a welcome relief.

Australia have other injury concerns ahead of next month's World Cup in the UAE with Grace Harris (calf) and Kim Garth (knee) both missing the New Zealand series.

Sunday will also mark opener Beth Mooney's 100th T20 international, after being handed her debut cap by now-coach Shelley Nitschke in 2016.

"I remember playing against Shell in the first year of the Big Bash," Mooney said.

"To have her, and the history she has in the game, present my first cap was really special.

"It was one I didn't think I would get. To have her here as a pretty important mentor on and off the field has been pretty cool.

"It's always nice to play one game for Australia, let alone 100. I'm very lucky to have been given the opportunities I have by the selectors and coaches."

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