Career highlight fuels Ashes return

Jess Jonassen will draw on fond memories when she heads to England this month as part of the 14-player Australia squad selected to defend the Women’s Ashes.

The 26-year-old, now one of the more familiar faces around the side with two Test caps plus 59 in limited-overs formats, made her Test debut in 2015 as a fresh-faced 22-year-old with a modest batting record.

And despite having built her career predominantly on off-spin bowling, the youngster was not deterred by the occasion and made a memorable impression with the bat.

On the first day of the solitary 2015 Ashes Test in Canterbury, Jonassen was sent into bat at No.6 with her side in strife. Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Alex Blackwell had all fallen cheaply before her, each failing to put more than 10 runs on the board.

At 5-99, Jonassen took to the crease with the Aussies needing both runs on the board and a steady hand.

And Jonassen delivered precisely this, in emphatic fashion. The left-hander went on to score 99 runs from 197 balls, taking Australia from the back to front foot in the match and playing a huge hand in Australia’s eventual victory.

"It’s probably still to this day, the highlight of my career so far,” Jonassen said today after the 2019 Ashes squad was unveiled.

"Even though we’ve won World Cups and everything like that, I think the opportunity to play in a Test match, and to perform the way I did on debut and ultimately play a part in us reclaiming the Ashes over there, I think that was something that was really special for me.

"Hopefully we can replicate something similar this time around.”

The Queenslander, who underwent knee surgery in September last year and was confined to running drinks for the duration of Australia’s successful T20 World Cup campaign, made a stunning return during the Rose Bowl series in February.

She collected career best figures of 5-27 in the second ODI against New Zealand and was named Player of the Series for her outstanding performances with bat and ball.

With the Ashes series drawing closer, Australian squad members are fielding plenty of questions surrounding how they prepare for Test match, a format that they play just once every two years.

The squad have been united in their response and the fearless tag that has followed the T20 World Cup winning side doesn’t appear to be getting lost amid the multi-format series.

"I think for us, we try not to change too much about the way that we play,” Jonassen said.

"We still want to be attacking, we still want to play positively, and I think the length of the game shouldn’t dictate that.

"I really like the whole multi-format series, it really shows the better side because you have to be consistent across all three formats.

“There’s no point focusing all your energy on the Test match purely because it has more points. you’ve got to win the other games as well to be ahead at the end of the series.”

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

June 26: England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

June 28:  England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

July 2: First ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 4: Second ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 7:  Third ODI, St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury

July 11-13: England Academy v Australia, Marlborough College, Swindon

July 18-21: Only Test, The County Ground, Taunton

July 26: First T20, County Ground, Chelmsford

July 28: Second T20, The County Ground, Hove

July 31: Third T20, Bristol County Ground, Bristol

A Test victory is worth four points (two each for a draw), two points are awarded for ODI and T20 wins