Jonassen draws from silver linings playbook in year of change

Jess Jonassen has spent 2024 looking for the silver linings in a year that has not panned out quite as she had planned.

If the champion allrounder can lift a third WBBL title for Brisbane Heat on Sunday – her first as skipper – it would be the "incredibly satisfying" underscore on a period that has required a degree of soul searching.

Jonassen, a two-time title winner under former Heat captain Kirby Short, will lead her team out onto the MCG for Sunday’s WBBL|10 final against the Renegades.

Jonassen has been the form allrounder leading the Heat’s six-game unbeaten streak that has seen them reach the final, continuing a year of dominance across domestic leagues since she was dropped from the Australian team in February.

That included a star turn for Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League in March, where she was equal-leading wicket taker as they finished runners-up to Royal Challenger Bangalore.

In The Hundred, Jonassen was the tournament’s third highest wicket taker playing for Welsh Fire – and the club’s second-leading run scorer – before she took up a chance to play in the Caribbean Premier League for the first time, signing with Trinbago Knight Riders.

Around that, the 32-year-old was dealing with the disappointment of missing out on an Australian T20 World Cup campaign for the first time when fit since she debuted in 2012.

"I think for me, having found myself out of the Australian side, there’s been a little bit of soul searching in a way, just been getting back to my roots and what I actually enjoy about cricket in the first place," Jonassen said in Brisbane this week.

"For me, I just look to try and have a positive impact on whatever team I'm a part of, in whatever jersey I'm a part of, as opposed to searching for an answer that might not even be there.

"I'm just enjoying my cricket and enjoying being out on the park and playing whoever that is, whoever it's for, I don't really mind, I'm just really loving it at the moment.

"(To win on Sunday) would be incredibly satisfying."

Sunday’s final will be a shot at redemption for Brisbane, who fell three runs short to the Strikers in last year’s decider.

While they did win back-to-back titles in WBBL|04 and |05, only three players remain from those XIs – Jonassen, and Laura and Grace Harris.

"The opportunity to become the first franchise to win three WBBL titles ... for us as a group, having been so consistent with making finals series and having the two titles, but falling short last season as well against the Strikers, it's been in the back of quite a few of our minds to want to go that one step further this time around," Jonassen said.

"We've given ourselves the best possible opportunity for that."

Jonassen hit her straps towards the latter part of the WBBL|10 regular season, and throughout the Heat’s six-game winning streak has picked up 11 wickets and hit 110 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 137.50.

"I feel like my game's in a really good spot at the moment, I feel really confident," she said.

"We've just been playing really well as a team, and everyone's performing their role brilliantly, and wanting their teammates to succeed and do their job as well.

"We've had a lot of fun off the field, and it's almost been since we played our game at the Gabba that we've really just turned our season around.

"(Assistant coach) Courtney Winfield-Hill has been trying to say that we've been breaching, using a whale analogy, that we're bursting through and making sure that we're finding our way.

"It's a lot of fun to have personalities such as her around that. We're really, really happy with where we're at the moment."

Jonassen was on Thursday named in the WBBL’s Team of the Decade, a decision that was simple for the selection panel given the spin-bowling allrounder is the league’s all-time leading wicket taker and a multiple title-winner.

The Queenslander said it was a "huge honour", adding while it was never an accolade she had set out to achieve, it was gratifying to know how highly her contributions across the past decade have been valued.

I've always worked hard on my game, always put in a lot behind the scenes, not only from a physical or a skill point of view, but from a mental point of view as well, and trying to build some of that mental toughness throughout," Jonassen said.

"Having gone through a number of significant challenges throughout the decade, to still be here playing and enjoying the game of cricket and still feeling like I have so much left to contribute and to offer - that's the one thing that I'm really pleased about, not only those performances, but where my mindset is still at."

WBBL|10 Finals

The Knockout: Sydney Thunder beat Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets

The Challenger: Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Thunder by nine wickets

The Final: Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat | MCG | Sunday, December 1 at 1.20pm AEDT

Grab your tickets or tune in on the Seven Network, 7Plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo or ABC and SEN radio

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