The veteran Australian left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen continues to impress in the 2nd edition of the WPL after facing a snub from the Australian squad for their maiden white-ball series in Bangladesh.
The Australian women’s team recently announced their squad for their first-ever tour to Bangladesh where they are scheduled to play a white-ball series that includes a three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series that will get underway on 21st March 2024 and conclude on 4th April 2024. The veteran left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen was overlooked for both the white-ball squads. Ashleigh Gardner, Alana King, and Georgia Wareham are the trio of spinners to make the cut in the squad.
It is the first instance when a fully fit Jess Jonassen will not be a part of the Australian contingent, since making her international debut on 25th January 2012 in an ODI against New Zealand.
“I think over the last couple of years, particularly over the last 12 months, Jess Jonassen’s role has not been as strong in the team. That’s probably more to do with players like Ashleigh Gardner having her game develop…and also players like Georgia Wareham with her skill set. Alana King’s form as well over the last 12 to 18 months has been really strong.” The Australian chief selector Shawn Flegler speaks about the reason why Jess Jonassen wasn’t included in the squad for their maiden white-ball tour to Bangladesh.
The 31-year-old left-arm spinner from Australia was picked up by Delhi Capitals for her base price of 50 lakhs in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League. She was the 3rd highest wicket-taker with the ball for the Delhi Capitals with 9 wickets in 9 innings in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League. They were the runners-up of the inaugural edition of the WPL, as they ended up on the losing side by 7 wickets against the Mumbai Indians.
She was retained by the Capitals for the 2nd edition of the WPL. She wasn’t a part of the starting 11 for the first couple of matches against Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz in the 2nd edition of the tournament. However, she eventually made her way into the playing 11, replacing Annabel Sutherland. She immediately made an impact scoring 36 runs at a humongous strike rate of 225 with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.
She returned with another impressive performance with the ball, dismantling the Gujarat Giants batting line-up by sending the three main-stays including skipper Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner to derail the run chase for the Gujarat Giants. “She’s been great around the group here, she was last year and she has been again this time around. She’s very experienced, she knows her game, she knows how to perform under pressure as well, she’s done that over a number of years. She’s obviously at a different stage in the international career, but for us here at Delhi, it’s nice to have someone who you can rely on I guess, you know what you gonna get, particularly in pressure moments. So for her to bounce back from that, particularly in these last two games and play as well as she has, it’s been excellent. I’m really happy for her that she’s been able to do well and help her team win.” Skipper Meg Lanning expresses her delight after Jess Jonassen’s match-winning performance with the ball against Gujarat Giants in the 10th match of the season.
She was awarded the Player of the Match for her game-changing spell (4-0-22-3) with the ball, playing a crucial role in helping Delhi Capitals to claim the top spot with a 25-run victory over Gujarat Giants.
(Quotes sourced from Espncricinfo, and Jio Cinema)