Jonassen plunders 173no against England in Derby

Jess Jonassen has enjoyed a timely day out in Derby, taking two wickets and hitting a century against a full-strength England attack on the final day of Australia A's warm-up game in Derby.

Jonassen is part of Australia's main Ashes squad but instead of joining her teammates in their practice match against England A in Leicester, she was dispatched to Derby to skipper a young Australia A side in their game against Heather Knight’s team.

One of three spinners vying for berths in Australia's Test XI for Trent Bridge alongside leggies Georgia Wareham and Alana King, Jonassen removed tailenders Sophie Ecclestone and Issy Wong early on Saturday morning to finish with figures of 3-111 before scoring a brilliant unbeaten 173.

It was a morale-boosting day for the 'A' side, who had been dismissed for 221 on Thursday before England's star batters filled their boots to reach a mammoth 7-611 by stumps on Friday in reply.

Australia A started Saturday still needing three English wickets and Jonassen kick-started the damage with two wickets in the space of three balls, before Charli Knott removed Kate Cross to end England’s innings on 650.

Jonassen, who missed out in the first dig when she was caught behind for one, was the star with the bat at No.4, supported by Courtney Webb who hit 79 as the pair shared a 146-run stand after coming together with Australia A shaky at 3-72.

Lauren Bell did the early damage removing Maddy Darke (1) and Heather Graham (0) in the space of three balls to leave the tourists 2-7, while Issy Wong broke through Nicole Faltum's defences to bowl the opener for 25.

Jonassen's century came off 148 deliveries and was her second triple-figure score in as many red-ball warm-up games, having also tonned up against her Australian teammates in Brisbane last month.

It adds further strength to the Queenslander's red-ball batting credentials; she has two Test fifties to her name including a 99 in Canterbury in 2015.

The left-hander proved immovable even as wickets fell at the other end on Saturday, passing 150 in the shadow of stumps as Australia A held on to deny England an outright victory.

Jonassen's defiant 173 not out was supported by Maitlan Brown (31) and Courtney Sippel (23no) as they finished on 7-361.

Jonassen will be reunited with her Australian Ashes teammates in Nottingham on Sunday as they prepare for the Test, which marks the beginning of the multi-format Ashes, at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

CommBank Ashes Tour of the UK 2023

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

England Test squad: Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver-Brunt (vc), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt

Test: June 22-26 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 11am local (7pm AEST)

First T20I: July 1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, 6.35pm (3.35am July 2 AEST)

Second T20I: July 5 at The Oval, London, 6.35pm (3.35am July 6 AEST)

Third T20I: July 8 at Lord’s, London, 6.35pm (3.35am July 9 AEST)

First ODI: July 12 at The County Ground, Bristol, 1pm (10pm AEST)

Second ODI: July 16 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, 11am (7pm AEST)

Third ODI: July 18 at The County Ground, Taunton, 1pm (10pm AEST)