Australian allrounder and Muruwari woman Ash Gardner, takes "great honour" in being a role model for future generations of Indigenous cricketers.

The 2024 Belinda Clark medallist - awarded to Australia's best women's cricketer for their performances across all formats over the previous 12 month period - says a greater understanding and appreciation for the oldest living culture on earth has sport and athletes like herself to harness as the vehicle forward.

Gardner debuted for the national side in 2017, proving both a key figure in the national side's successes and an honest voice on matters important to her in the time since.

Across recent summers, the 27-year-old has been critical of play scheduled on January 26 - for both the men's and women's Australian teams.

"I believe being vocal on things I'm passionate for ultimately sparks conversation which people tend to shy away from if they're not comfortable speaking about certain topics," Gardner told National Indigenous Times in the days following NAIDOC Week.

"It will help educate people on different things but in particular culture which we've got a long way to go in this country.

"I think sport can be a big factor in helping people have a greater understanding of the longest living culture in the world as there are so many amazing First Nations athletes who share their story and personal reflections on many topics.

"It's about being able to open people's minds on things they don't know enough about and creating a safe space for questions to be asked."

After Indigenous cricket trailblazer, the late Faith Thomas, Gardner is just the second Indigenous woman to play Test cricket and - while respecting the Aboriginal team who toured England in the late 19th century; Australia's first organised sportspeople to travel internationally - is one of four players, alongside Jason Gillespie and Scott Boland in the men's setup to don the baggy green.

If she can be a vocal role model for the next generation within a historically "white dominated" sport, Gardner said "it's an important role to play".

"I believe what you can't see you can't be so having First Nation's role models in the cricketing space gives opportunity for young people to look up to and follow our footsteps to hopefully one day play high level cricket," she said.

Separately, her Ashleigh Gardner Foundation aims to increase Indigenous youth engagement in school through sport, 'unstructured play', education and art.

As for the future of Indigenous cricketers, Gardner pointed to the National Indigenous Cricket Championships (NICC) - an annual state and territory representative tournament held in Mparntwe (Alice Springs).

"(NICC) is a fantastic stepping stone for cricketers to hopefully get in the sights of state selectors and shine on that stage" she said.

Despite the platform and attention, Gardner says Indigenous cricket pathways "could still be better", with "more scope for getting players from the country to have access to city facilities throughout the year to better expose them to what high performance looks like in cricket".

NICC, originally the state and territory division of the Imparja Cup - a continuing marquee Indigenous cricket event dating back more than three decades, was first held in 2016.

Earlier this week, Gillespie called for more Cricket Australia investment into the Imparja Cup conceding "Indigenous cricket is a work in progress" while on tour with the Pakistan Shaheens (Pakistan A) for their limited overs matches with Bangladesh A currently being played in Darwin.

"I think that's pretty important if we can get some more resources into that, and we can get some more resources and get out to the communities and do some more work, that will be a step in the right direction," he said, according to NT News.

On the women's cricket front, Gardner said its soaring trajectory has made it the "frontrunner" for women's sport at home.

"It's a really competitive sporting space in Australia at the moment so we need to keep being drivers in this space and bringing success for our fans to follow our team," she said.

"In other countries cricket is doing amazing things for women and shining a light on what the capabilities are if you fund it well and put in time and effort to growing it."

Ahead of a bumper summer, Australia will defend their T20 World Cup victory - Australia's and third successive hoist of the trophy where Gardner was named player of the series.

They'll also host New Zealand and India either side of the tournament before a home Ashes series against England.

"Probably one of the most exciting seasons we've got coming up this year," Gardner said, with the World Cup and bragging rights against "our two biggest rivals in India and England" up for grabs.