Jonassen pushes case for batting elevation

Spin-bowling allrounder Jess Jonassen believes she is well placed to take advantage of the hole left in Australia's batting order by the injured Ellyse Perry when the ODI series against New begins in Brisbane on Saturday.

Perry has occupied the No.4 position in 17 of Australia's past 18 ODIs stretching back to the beginning of 2018, and on Thursday head coach Matthew Mott conceded the superstar allrounder's absence effectively meant having to replace her with two players, which could feasibly lead to a middle-order reshuffle.

With Rachael Haynes set to open alongside Alyssa Healy at Allan Border Field on Saturday, the No.4 spot has a strong list of potential suitors, led by T20 opener Beth Mooney and followed closely by Ashleigh Gardner and even another spin-bowling allrounder in Sophie Molineux.

Jonassen appears at longer odds to fill the role; she has rarely featured in Australia's top six in either white-ball format in the past four years, and that was again the case throughout the recently-completed T20I series against the White Ferns, in which she was listed at No9 and batted just once, making six not out.

However, the left-hander enjoyed a transformative tournament with the bat in last year's Rebel Women's Big Bash to perhaps make the selectors reconsider her credentials as a top-six batter.

Among tomorrow's likely Australia XI, only the outstanding Mooney and skipper Meg Lanning scored more runs during that tournament than Jonassen's 419, which came at an average of 38.09 and a strike-rate of 133.01.

"I'm forever hopeful," said the Brisbane Heat captain about a potential promotion. "It's obviously quite challenging to get up the order in this side at the moment – we've got some really quality players – but I guess with 'Pez' (Perry) being ruled out of this series it poses a really good opportunity for a number of us to fill that middle-order role.

"I'll always be open to the opportunity and hopefully if it comes I'll be able to make the most of it, because I have done a lot of hard work on my batting and I was really pleased with the Big Bash that I had last year with the bat.

"(But) that's a matter of one good consistent season. If I can continue to build on that and keep putting the runs on the board, that hopefully takes the decision out of (the selectors') hands and they can almost just give me an opportunity to bat a little bit higher."

Jonassen's career as a batter with Australia has followed an undulating trajectory. Across the two white-ball formats she has been trialed in every position aside from No.3 (and No11) across the past eight years, though 28 of her 41 ODI innings have come from No.7 or lower.

On the 2015 Ashes tour, Mott's first as head coach, she produced a match-winning double of 99 and 54 from No6 in the one-off Test but failed to cement her spot as a T20 opener, where she had impressed against the West Indies the previous year. From there, a combination of form and injury took its toll, and as Jonassen herself points out, the strong competition for batting places within the Australian squad has made it a challenging road back for the 27-year-old.

Last summer, however, could well prove another turning point for the hard-hitting batter, who benefited greatly from the counsel of new Brisbane Heat and Queensland Fire coach Ashley Noffke after working her way through mental health and injury challenges in the preceding 12 months.

"I feel in a really good spot at the moment," Jonassen said. "I've worked really hard throughout the pre-season on a number of things with my batting and worked really closely again with Ash Noffke.

"I just look to try and keep things really simple regardless of the situation that I could potentially come to the crease at – things don't change much from a mentality point of view in what I want to try and execute out there.

"If the opportunity arises to face a few more deliveries, hopefully I can do what I know I'm capable of doing, and just do it for a longer period."

Speaking after Wednesday's defeat to New Zealand in the final match of the T20I series, in which Jonassen made her lone appearance for the series at No.9, captain Lanning reiterated Australia's long-held emphasis on prioritising a right- and left-hand combination at the crease, though she did suggest a promotion for the Queenslander was far from out of the question.

"It's obviously a very deep batting line-up and we do have a lot of left-handers as well," Lanning said. "She's shown over a period of time, especially in the WBBL, that's she's very handy with the bat and she can make significant contributions.

"So it's about getting that balance right in terms of who we think is most suited (to the match situation) at the time, but we certainly rate her batting – she's performed some really good roles for us over a period of time.

"Unfortunately for her she was a little bit lower today but there's no reason why she couldn't head up the order next time."

CommBank T20I and ODI series

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Natalie Dodd, Deanna Doughty, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin

All matches to be played at Brisbane's Allan Border Field

First T20: Australia won by 17 runs

Second T20: Australia won by eight wickets

September 30: New Zealand won by five wickets

October 3: First ODI, 10:10am AEST

October 5: Second ODI, 10:10am AEST (11:10 AEDT)

October 7: Third ODI, 10:10am AEST (11:10 AEDT)

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