Image Credit- BCCI
The hardest
selection call head coach Shelley Nitschke had ever had to make was leaving
all-rounder Jess Jonassen out of Australia’s squad to tour Bangladesh; yet, the
all-rounder’s subsequent performance at the WPL has been precisely what she
expected.
For the first time since making her debut in 2012, Jonassen was left out of a
team when fit for the forthcoming trip. It happened at the conclusion of a
season in which she was dropped from all formats, raising questions about her
availability for the October T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
Since then, though,
Jonassen has taken 11 wickets for the Delhi Capitals, helping them advance to
the championship game and sharing the lead in wicket-taking throughout the
campaign. In her second appearance against Gujarat Giants, she was named Player
of the Match. Ash Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, and Beth Mooney, teammates from
Australia, shared her 3 for 22 total. She took out Hayley Matthews in the next
game against the Mumbai Indians, which was Jonassen’s final Twenty20
international appearance before her record-breaking rampage at North Sydney
Oval in early October.
“It was a tough
decision and she was very disappointed. To see how she’s responded in the WPL,
to me it’s no surprise she’s done that,” Nitschke told ESPNcricinfo.
“She’s a real fighter. Certainly not surprised with how she’s going about
that and making a statement which is exactly what we like to see.
“It’s really tough to leave out a player like JJ who has been around for a
long time. She has been a great servant for us. But she’s certainly not out of
the mix. She’s showing exactly what she is capable of over in the WPL which has
been fantastic to watch.”
Australia fly out to
Bangladesh on Saturday with the ODIs taking place on March 21, 24 and 27
followed by the T20Is on March 31, April 2 and April 4.