WPL 2024: Jonassen on contemplating retirement, an Aussie comeback and power of having a point to prove – MASHAHER

In 2019, Jess Jonassen, in a column for Athletes’ Voice, had likened herself to a boxer. “Throughout much of my career – and definitely over the past six months or so – I’ve been on the ropes taking blow after blow. But I’m still standing. Still in the fight,” she had written.

Four years later, Jonassen’s fight is yet to end.

It’s been a particularly trying past couple of months. The 31-year-old, who carried the team to world titles (four Women’s T20 World Cup crowns, one One-Day International (ODI) World Cup triumph and one Commonwealth Games gold medal) found herself out of favour in the national set-up, after a hammering at the hands of West Indies’ Hayley Matthews, last year.

The Queensland-born allrounder is currently in India for the second edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), playing for Delhi Capitals.

After missing the first two games, against Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz, she has cemented her place in the side with three-wicket hauls in every single game since and leads the wicket-takers’ tally with nine scalps.

Jonassen spoke to Sportstar about her axing, contemplating retirement, her allies in adverse times and much more.

What is with you and the number three in the WPL this season, Jess? How are you feeling about coming back into an outfit and succeeding?

Maybe, my lucky number is three at the moment! It has been a challenging last couple of months, particularly with not playing as much cricket as I would have liked to. I was pretty nervous because I had not played for a while. The crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was incredible and I wanted to do well.

Those initial nerves dissipated once the game started. I guess it was down to just all this time spent sitting around and waiting.

I just loved the fact that I was out there running around again, trying to play a part and contributing because that was something I hadn’t experienced in a while. I was that person on the sidelines, being the number one cheerleader. I wanted to be able to take a night off from mixing drinks (smiles).

I’m surprised to hear you use the word nervousness because we’ve come to associate you with someone who likes coming in during pressure situations, be it with the bat or the ball. For you, what does nervousness look like?

We wait to finalise the team until we get to the ground and see the surface we’re playing on, and in my case, for a strip that could offer a bit more for spinners. I’ve always said to the coaches, whether it’s JB (Jonathan Batty) here at Delhi or our Australian coaches – I’m always ready.

I’ve trusted my preparation. I’ve been working hard. So, when or if that opportunity came, I was there. When I was added to the playing XI, I got the opportunity to prove whether I truly was ready – not just to the others but also to myself, that I’ve worked hard and this is where my game is at….

You can only train so much until you get put into a game situation. That’s where you truly see where your skill levels are at. For me, there were questions over the past few months about whether I was still good enough or capable. The push of wanting to do well (for myself) and for the team came from there.

How tough is it to sit out?

This environment and this group (DC) have made sitting out actually not feel so bad, which is a really weird thing for me to say because I always want to be out on the field. That said, the level of love and support and the fact that the girls just genuinely want each other to do well, is a real vibe that I get from everyone here.

It’s a really nice place to be and it’s probably no surprise then that we have had the team success that we have so far because we want everyone to do well, understanding that everybody has a different role to play within that team success.

Jess Jonassen during the practice session ahead of Australia’s one-off Test match against India, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
Emmanual Yogini / The Hindu

For me too, over the years – on understanding myself a bit more and how to deal with situations that don’t go my way – there’s been a realisation that there always has to be somebody who misses out on the team in elite sports and it is the direction the women’s game is heading in because of the professionalisation of it.

You have to be on top of your game almost all the time, but then sometimes when you’re not or there’s a run of games when you’re not, that opens the door and opportunity for somebody else.

Knowing that it’s never just that one person who’s missing out, there are other people in a similar situation as well, in a similar boat, has given me a greater perspective and empathy for other people who go through that as well.

This is a team where a lot of characters have things to prove, like Shikha Pandey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Arundhati Reddy or even Poonam Yadav. How much does that baggage get shared in the group? Do those frustrations and insecurities get talked about?

I’ve had a few conversations with a number of those names and it’s a nice thing in the sense that nobody is bagging anybody out or saying things out of turn. It’s the sharing of experiences and how certain people have coped with them or what they’ve done or learnt from them.

A lot of the time, it’s always nice to be able to have conversations with people who truly understand what you’ve gone through. That way of venting frustrations becomes constructive saying, ‘Oh, this worked for me’, ‘Have you tried this?’, ‘What was the feedback that you were given?’. When you do that with like-minded people, you know they’re not trying to use it against you at a later time. It’s a genuine level of care.

Jonassen, celebrates a wicket with Radha and Jemimah Rodrigues in the Women’s Premier League 2024 (WPL).
| Photo Credit:
Murali Kumar K / The Hindu

For example, the day the news of the Bangladesh squad came out, I had a knock on my door. It was Shikha. She just gave me a hug and said, “I saw the news this morning. I thought I’d come by and give you a hug to hopefully make it feel better.” It’s no surprise that our team is as close as we are. These people have a lot of shared experiences and there’s a lot of incredibly good human beings and ultimately that’s what it comes down to.

Yes, we’re all cricketers. We all play the same sport and want to excel and succeed. But yeah, those human and personable connections make it extra special.

Has anyone travelled with you to India, Jess? Anyone from the family?

No, no one has travelled with me this time. My wife (Sarah Gooderham) came over during our series against India over Christmas and New Year. My mother was going to come, but she’d end up just following around domestically.

This (WPL and non-selection in the national team) has the potential to be quite lonely, especially when you have received some negative information. There was a period where I had so many of the girls just reaching out and checking in on me, the coaching staff as well, and it’s something I haven’t experienced a lot before.

ALSO READ: Be a Jemimah Rodrigues and you’ll be fine: A lesson on the power of self-belief

This is the first international squad that I’ve missed out on for non-injury-related reasons. I am learning how to be kind to myself as well as give myself time to be able to process something that I’ve never actually experienced before.

Have you been given an explanation about your exclusion?

Because I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for the last couple of series, they didn’t see where or how I would get a game at this point. There was nothing really beyond that, just that I needed to keep staying ready and keep working hard and things could change quickly.

I’ve looked a little bit internally and know that over the upcoming pre-season, there are a few things I want to specifically work on, even back in my domestic setup as well, being the captain of the two teams over there (Brisbane Heat in the WBBL [Women’s Big Bash League] and Queensland Fire in the WNCL [Women’s National Cricket League]).

Jonassen in action for Australia in the Women’s Twenty20 Tri-Series Final between against India at Junction Oval on February 12, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

I’ve been taking the selfless approach, especially with the bat, slotting myself down the order a bit more, thinking it’s the best for the team. That’s probably come at a cost for me.

So it’s about having relevant conversations I need to with people back home and working our way through to see what’s best for those teams while making sure that I am doing what’s best for me too.

You have a familiar face here in Meg Lanning. You two have been part of several memorable triumphs for Australia together. What is it like to have someone like that in your corner during a time like this? Does she discuss the team and international cricket at all, after stepping away from it?

I love Meg. I loved playing under her when she was captain. As a leader, she just had that ability to make you, as a player, feel like you were in control. Even when things were going completely pear-shaped, she had this element of calmness and composure which she was able to pass on to you as a player.

She always believed I could do it and whenever she threw me the ball, my feeling was also that I didn’t want to let her down. I want to do the job for my captain (in WPL).

(Since her retirement from international cricket) I’ve noticed a massive weight lifted off her shoulders, particularly this season. I’ve probably seen her smile the most that she has in a long time, and I know that she’s really loving it and enjoying her cricket as well. She’s reached out to me at different times to say if I need anything or if I need to talk about anything, we’ll catch up.

Jonassen in discussion with Meg Lanning during the Women’s Premier League 2024 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
Murali Kumar K/The Hindu

In my mind, she’s one of, if not the best captain in women’s cricket and, in cricket overall. Her record speaks for herself in that respect. She’s obviously a big loss at the international level with that calm head. That said, Alyssa (Healy) is so passionate and fiery as well.

They’re different, but different isn’t a bad thing. There are a number of senior heads that are still around in that Australian setup, allowing us to try and navigate our way through this change of personnel.

Is that Bangladesh World Cup still on your mind somewhere? How are you compartmentalising that… taking each day as it comes along with this bigger goal of getting back into the side and proving that you have what it takes to be part of that competitive Australian team?

Honestly, it did cross my mind when I wasn’t in this upcoming squad for the Bangladesh tour that, “Oh, well, there goes my World Cup as well.” I had my two-day pity party where I was feeling sorry for myself, but then I didn’t want news like that or decisions that were ultimately out of my control to dictate or influence my experience of where I currently am.

I wanted to make sure I made the most of this season of the WPL. Whether there’s an opportunity to play or not, I was going to have to do it with a smile on my face and enjoy what I am doing. It just so happened that a day or two after that news, I got an opportunity here and I’ve just kept running with it.

A thing that sort of came as a result of missing out on the Bangladesh series is that I was nominated for The Hundred’s draft. So, there’s an opportunity to potentially play some more cricket.

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I feel like that’s the only way that I’m going to push my way back into that starting XI. That involves working closely with my wife and making sure some extra time away from home is okay but she’s super supportive as is the rest of my family.

They know how happy being out on a cricket field makes me.

I still have that drive and determination to want to keep playing. There were thoughts of whether it was time to retire from international cricket or not, whether I was still wanted, whether I was still good enough. But yeah, I’m not really thinking too far ahead now. It’s just about taking up whatever opportunities pop up to try and give myself the best possible chance and do my very best for the team that I’m a part of at that time.

DC is one of the stronger sides in the tournament. Can it go the distance this time and lift the trophy?

Absolutely, (we are) 100 percent confident. We’re not being complacent. We know we still need to be playing good cricket. I guess the victory over Mumbai Indians goes a long way. That said, when we came up against them in our first game of the season, they only got over the line with the six off the last ball.

So, we’re potentially facing the fact that we could have almost been undefeated so far this season. To have only dropped one game now and that the last part of this tournament is in front of our home fans is a powerful feeling. I know a lot of the girls, myself included, who are relishing that.

In our team, almost everybody has represented their nation… The fact that we’ve got some amazing overseas players and people like Marizanne Kapp, Meg and Alice Capsey, combined with the depth and quality of our local players, makes it hard not to have that confidence that you’re going to be there at the end of it.

Where we’re placed at the moment is, obviously, a really strong position, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done and the job’s not over yet.

We know the hurt that we felt last year and how close we came to being the inaugural winners. It’s a deeper driving force, particularly for someone like me who sort of relishes a little bit of needing a point to prove.