How WBBL inspired Jonassen in clutch final over

Jess Jonassen has revealed she invoked one of the most famous moments in WBBL history before her clutch final-over that denied India and sealed Commonwealth Games gold for Australia.

Jonassen is no stranger to being handed the ball for tense last overs; during the one-day World Cup in New Zealand she stopped a fast-finishing England in their tracks.

But it was the 13 she defended to defeat Sydney Thunder and seal Brisbane Heat’s spot in the WBBL|04 final – yes, the over with that catch from Haidee Birkett – that came to mind when Meg Lanning handed her the ball at Edgbaston with India needing 11 for victory.

"I was super, super nervous, to be honest" Jonassen told reporters after receiving her gold medal.

"I hadn't bowled for a little while during the match and I felt like I'd stiffened up a little bit.

"My heart rate was through the roof. But in saying that, I just looked down the other end and looked at Midge (Alyssa Healy) and she was just mimicking taking deep breaths.

"So that really helped me, and I think having the clarity around the deliveries I wanted to bowl and execute really helped as well.

"I’m fortunate enough to have been in similar situations in some other games and knew what I needed to do and it was just a matter of executing it."

After Jonassen bowled a dot to start the 20th over, Meghna Singh was run out at the non-strikers end taking a second run to keep Yastika Bhatia on strike.

Image Id: CAB4C55BDE99441CACE935AF7C6A545F Image Caption: Jess Jonassen runs out Meghna Singh in the final over // Getty

The left-armer then trapped Bhatia lbw with her third delivery to bowl India out and seal gold.

Bhatia, a late introduction to the match as a concussion substitute for wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, reviewed the decision but Jonassen was never in doubt.

"Midge and I both knew that it was out, that it was just prolonging the result," she said.

"But I said to Midge that even if it was not out, we had a really good hug there anyway."

Image Id: 609C480EAA184A26A7CC3B5877E56397 Image Caption: The moment Australia claimed gold by bowling India out // Getty

Jonassen said she had expected either herself or off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner to take the final over.

Gardner had taken 3-16 with her three overs to that point, including the crucial 16th over where she removed Pooja Vastrakar and Harmanpreet Kaur with consecutive deliveries.

"She bowled outstandingly well and one of her overs there was an absolute matchwinner," Jonassen said.

"We knew that it was either one of us to take that last over ... I saw the ball lying there on the ground, and I toddled over to it and Meg gave me the nod.

Image Id: 4B663927DCE0450BA6A8927D23BBB60D Image Caption: Aussie skipper Lanning showed supreme faith in Jonassen // Getty

"I'm very honoured and very pleased that Meg trusted me with that and I was able to execute for her and the rest of the team.

"It is nice to know that I've been in those situations. The one match that went through my head when I was looking at the scenario ... I've done it in the final over of a WBBL semi-final where there was a ridiculous piece of fielding off my bowling that got (Australia) teammate Nic Carey out, so knowing that I've been in those situations before does help.

"But at the same time, I was still very, very nervous."

Australia’s Commonwealth Games campaign was not the well-oiled machine that saw them go undefeated at the one-day World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.

They arrived in the United Kingdom from the middle of the Australian winter and their warm-up tri-series in Ireland was severely affected by wet weather.

In Birmingham, they required an epic fightback to defeat India in the opening game and produced scrappy efforts with the bat against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Jonassen said being forced to fight made the win particularly rewarding, particularly after an off-season shake-up that saw former head coach Matthew Mott depart to coach England’s men, and assistant Ben Sawyer take up the New Zealand women’s head coach role.

"Coming out on the winning side of that, and we scrapped our way through for the majority of our wins, and for this team with the amount of changes we've gone through in the support staff, it's a credit to the whole group with how we've been able to adapt and adjust and just find a way to get the job done," Jonassen said.

"And ultimately in tournament play, that's all you have to do – you don't need to play the perfect game.

Image Id: 2DFB35B4375C4614B024B666F1C6F849 Image Caption: Australia's celebrations begin after clinching gold // Getty

"Today's more about the whole game of cricket, and I feel like (the final) was worthy of a gold medal match.

"The very first gold medal for women's cricket in the Comm Games, to be a part of that and hopefully gain some more fans of the game of cricket.

"That's ultimately what we set out to do."

2022 Commonwealth Games

Australia's squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington

See all the Commonwealth Games cricket squads here

Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, Barbados

Group B: England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka

July 29: Australia beat India by three wickets

July 31: Australia beat Barbados by nine wickets

August 3: Australia beat Pakistan by 44 runs

Semi-finals: August 6

India beat England by four runs

Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets

Bronze medal match: New Zealand beat England by eight wickets

Gold medal match: Australia beat India by nine runs

All matches played at Edgbaston Stadium. Watch live or on demand via 7Plus