Following back-to-back title triumphs under Kirby Short’s leadership, Jess Jonassen took over as Brisbane Heat captain in 2020-21, maintaining the team’s remarkable consistency by guiding them to every WBBL Finals series since. However, a title as captain still eludes her, with the Heat once again falling agonizingly short of securing an unprecedented third WBBL championship.
Seeking redemption, the Heat began their 2024 campaign with back-to-back wins, recovering from three consecutive losses with an impressive five-match winning streak to close the league stage. Both the Heat and table-toppers Melbourne Renegades finished with 7 wins and 3 losses, but the Heat’s net run rate placed them second, earning a spot in the Challenger, while the Renegades secured a direct berth in the Final.
The Heat registered a dominant win over the in-form Sydney Thunder in the Challenger to advance to their second consecutive WBBL Final. Last season, they narrowly missed the title by 3 runs in a chase of 122 against the Adelaide Strikers. This season, they fell just 7 runs short in a rain-affected chase of 98. Despite the loss, a standout for the Heat was skipper Jess Jonassen, who led from the front with a valiant 28-ball 44* and a tidy 1/25 with the ball.
Notably, Jonassen scored a pivotal fifty in The Hundred (Women’s) Final for the Welsh Fire, only to end up on the losing side. Her successful campaigns with the Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) also culminated in Final defeats.
Reflecting on her second consecutive WBBL Final loss and string of Final defeats, Jonassen commented, “It’s obviously hard at the best of times. People say it’s all well and good getting into a final. But I’ve lost my last six now across franchise cricket, so they’re starting to pile up, and they’ve been all in the last 12 months. It hurts, this one hurts a lot, but I know everyone will be better off for it and we’ll be coming and hunting again next year.”
Having been dropped from Australia’s squads one after another—last playing an ODI in July 2023, a T20I in October 2023, and a Test in December 2023—Jonassen faced significant challenges. Yet, she showed resilience, claiming 4 wickets from 5 WCPL outings, scoring 177 runs at a strike rate of 130.37 in The Hundred, alongside 12 wickets, and scalping 11 wickets from 7 outings in the WPL.
Speaking about her time away from the national squad and her franchise cricket participation, Jonassen shared, “I think for me, having found myself out of the Australian side, there’s been a little bit of soul searching in a way, just getting back to my roots and what I actually enjoy about cricket in the first place.
“For me, I just look to try and have a positive impact on whatever team I’m a part of, in whatever jersey I’m a part of, as opposed to searching for an answer that might not even be there. I’m just enjoying my cricket and enjoying being out on the park. Whoever that is, whoever it’s for, I don’t really mind. I’m just really loving it at the moment.”
In WBBL 2024, Jonassen scored 218 runs at a strike rate of 129.76 from 10 innings and finished as the third-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets from 12 matches, maintaining an economy rate of 7.04. Despite another impactful season, her knock on the selectors’ door went unanswered when Australia’s squad for the home ODI series against India was announced.
(Quotes sourced from cricket.com.au)
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