'Hurts a lot': Heat grapple with back-to-back heartbreak

Jess Jonassen admits her club's second-straight defeat in a Weber WBBL final "hurt a lot" but the Brisbane Heat skipper has vowed her group will return better in WBBL|11.

The Heat went down by seven runs (DLS method) to Melbourne Renegades at the MCG on Sunday, falling just shy of a revised target of 98 despite Jonassen's unbeaten innings of 44 off 28 that kept her side in the chase until the final over.

It followed their three-run loss to Adelaide Strikers in last summer's WBBL|09 Final.

Jonassen could be forgiven for wondering if she had walked under a ladder, or crossed paths with a black cat, following her run in franchise tournaments across the last 12 months.

Alongside the twin Heat defeats, Jonassen was part of the Delhi Capitals team that finished runners-up in the Women's Premier League in April, the Welsh Fire side that narrowly lost the Hundred final, and the Trinbago Knight Riders XI that could not get over the line in the Caribbean Premier League decider.

The Heat have lost two finals in six weeks, having also fallen short on the final ball of the T20 Spring Challenge final.

"It's obviously hard at the best of times," Jonassen said on Sunday.

"People say it's all well and good getting into a final.

"But I've lost my last six now across franchise cricket, so they're starting to pile up, and they've been all in the last 12 months.

"It hurts, this one hurts a lot, but I know everyone will be better off for it and we'll be coming and hunting again next year."

Jonassen said she felt the Renegades' total of 9-141 was chasable, but that the rain delay that came 3.2 overs into their chase had made their task more difficult.

The Heat lost opener Grace Harris and first drop Jemimah Rodrigues early and when the rain arrived, they were 2-19 needing 122 from 16.2 overs.

When the game resumed, they were handed a revised target of 98 off 12.

Wickets continued to fall, leaving Heat in disarray at 5-37, still needing 61 off 30 balls when Jonassen was joined by English international Lauren Winfield-Hill.

The pair then put on 31 in 2.5 overs, with Winfield-Hill contributing just three of those while Jonassen unleashed, hitting five fours and a six, ensuring the game came down to the final over.

"By the time 'Loz' (Winfield-Hill) came out, I just said, 'Let's give it a red-hot crack'," Jonassen said of the Heat's approach to their chase.

"Certain plans that we took in (to the game) didn't quite work so we then had to try and adjust, and when you need upwards of 10 an over, maybe even 12 by that point, you don't really have time for too many more dot balls.

"To be fair, I think we were a little bit sloppy in the field early, made a few uncharacteristic errors, which could have or couldn't have cost us we, I guess we'll never know.

"Then when the rain came ... I think the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern total went a bit higher than we probably envisaged in the end.

"There's probably those couple of things ... but it's one of those ones where I thought we bowled all right, I thought it was a par score and if we had the full 20 overs, I felt confident that we would have been able to chase it down."

Jonassen was nonetheless proud of the way her team had proved their doubters wrong, following an off-season of change that saw a host of players depart, including Georgia Voll and Amelia Kerr, and a change in head coach.

"I would have loved that almost fairytale finish," Jonassen said.

"We were the genuine underdog from before the competition even started.

"Yet we're one of the most successful franchises, so it would have been nice to be the first team to get those three titles.

"But for some reason, it's just not meant to be right now."

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 Women win by seven runs (DLS method)

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