Ahead of their tour of Bangladesh, 6-time Twenty20 (T20) World Cup champions, Australia, in a World Cup year, handed a shocking snub to a star all-rounder, omitting her from the touring contingent. Amidst her heroics now in the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL), Australian head coach Shelley Nitschke termed the snub a tough decision and Jess Jonassen’s response an expected one.
Jess Jonassen’s omission for the Bangladesh tour was the first time that she was left out of a squad when fit since her debut in 2012. Before being left out of the squad entirely, she was first dropped from the ODI XI against West Indies in October 2023, then found herself out of the T20I XI against India in December 2023, and was benched from the Test XI in February 2024. These decisions came despite her stellar domestic season across both white-ball formats.
In the WPL, representing the Delhi Capitals, Jess initially missed selection but seized the opportunity to prove her worth when Annabel Sutherland faltered. Notably, her inclusion in the XI happened to be days after her omission from Australia’s Bangladesh touring contingent.
In her first WPL game this season, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jess put on an all-round show, scoring 36* off 16 balls, powering Delhi to a match-winning total, and then cleaned up the tailenders cheaply, returning figures of 3/21 (4). She hasn’t been required much with the bat since, while continuing to excel with the ball, securing three consecutive 3-wicket hauls. In 6 games, she has taken 11 wickets at an average of 15.09 and an economy rate of 7.21.
Jess’ dominant WPL form is an expected response, at least for coach Shelley Nitschke. She stated, “It was a tough decision and she was very disappointed. To see how she’s responded in the WPL, to me it’s no surprise she’s done that. She’s a real fighter. Certainly not surprised with how she’s going about that and making a statement which is exactly what we like to see… She’s showing exactly what she is capable of over in the WPL which has been fantastic to watch.”
In the Australian XI, with Georgia Wareham now spearheading the spin attack in the white-ball formats and fit-again Sophie Molineux back in the team’s scheme of things, Jess is facing competition for a spot. However, Shelley Nitschke said the doors aren’t closed for Jess’ return, and she remains in contention.
Quoting Shelley Nitschke, “It’s really tough to leave out a player like JJ who has been around for a long time. She has been a great servant for us. But she’s certainly not out of the mix.”
With the return of Sophie Molineux, who offers a similar skill set to Jess, Australia now has the flexibility to include Alana King in the T20I squad for her first appearance since February 2023. With Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham also in contention, the selectors face a welcome dilemma with four spin all-rounders vying for selection and Jess knocking on the door.
Hence, head coach Shelley Nitschke is open to experimenting with team combinations and eyes the Bangladesh tour for answers, while also expecting the hosts to put up a strong fight. She commented, “We’ve got a few things to look at and make decisions on, there’s a little bit of time to go between now and then… We probably need to use that opportunity to find a few things out. There could be some things we look at that aren’t Plan A.”
(Quotes sourced from ESPN)