Gardner's heroics in vain against Aussie-driven Phoenix
Almost single-handedly at the Nottingham venue where she bowled Australia to an Ashes Test triumph two summers ago, captain Gardner kept the home side's hopes alive with her thrilling knock of 61 off 32 balls on Sunday.
Studded with 10 fours, it represented nearly half their total of 8-128, but still proved nowhere near enough as the Superchargers, thriving off the back of excellent performances from Aussie internationals Georgia Wareham, Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland, knocked off the runs for the loss of just two wickets.
The supremely talented Litchfield, with an inventive switch-hitting cameo of 22 off just 10 balls, and Sutherland, clattering an unbeaten 18 off 11, took the visitors swiftly past the target with 21 balls remaining.
They provided the main support acts to 18-year-old English find Davina Perrin, whose brilliant unbeaten 72 deservedly won her the player of the match honours and marked her as an opener Australia may have reason to be fearful of over the next few years.
Wareham, player of the match in the Superchargers' first win, this time led from the front in the field as she took two catches and ran out Bryony Smith with only one stump to aim on just the fifth ball of the innings to set the visitors on their way to dominating.
Wareham, who took 0-28, won't have been happy with her one inexplicable spilled chance, but otherwise was exceptional in the field, exemplified by the finely judged boundary-edge catch off Grace Ballinger that finally sent Gardner on her way.
Gardner had been hitting the ball beautifully while wickets tumbled around her, hitting her first half-century since captaining the Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League in February.
In the day's earlier match at Southampton, Ellyse Perry's Birmingham Phoenix were beaten by 15 runs by Southern Brave.
The great Australian allrounder looked well set to guide the visitors to a second straight win in the competition as they chased a total of 7-139 but on 26 off 21 balls, Perry toe-ended a swipe off Sophie Devine and was bagged at deep midwicket.
From there, the Phoenix challenge, which had kicked off with Aussie opener Georgia Voll getting bowled for 10, eventually faded as they were bowled out for 124, with only Dutch batter Sterre Kalis showing much resistance with her 44 off 34 balls.
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They certainly share the same sentiment, with the three-time Hawthorn premiership forward determined to "rage, rage against the dying of the light". The 34-year-old, a two-time All-Australian and one of the best small forwards of his generation, announced on Thursday this season will be his last. Former teammate and current Hawks coach Sam Mitchell has no doubt Breust will stay in the game, probably as a coach, but there is unfinished business, with the Hawks seventh on the ladder and yet to confirm a finals berth. "He spoke really nicely and gently (to teammates) ... until we started talking about the rest of the season. He had just that little bit of rage behind his eyes," Mitchell said. "He's still burning to make sure he can achieve as much and help us achieve as much as we can." Known as "Punky", Breust is the game's ultimate cult figure and Mitchell added he was the rarest of beasts - an AFL player with no enemies. 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