WNCL preview: New Fire skipper ready to make a mark

Queensland coach Ashley Noffke is tipping new captain Jess Jonassen to take her batting game to another level in the middle-order when the domestic 50-over season begins on Saturday.

However, the Fire will start their campaign without veteran Australia allrounder Delissa Kimmince, who is taking extended leave from the game.

After multiple delays due to border closures, the first match of the Women’s National Cricket League will be played in Canberra on Saturday when the ACT Meteors host the Queensland Fire.

Jonassen steps into the leadership role left vacant by Kirby Short’s retirement, while it will be the first time any of the players have taken the field at the elite level since the end of the Rebel WBBL in November.

The left-arm spinner has predominantly made her name at international level for her bowling, but also has a Test match 99 to her name.

Noffke hopes she can make a case for a promotion up the order in Australia’s ODI side by dominating with the bat for Queensland.

"Jess has a great opportunity as a batter to show her class and quality (this season)" Noffke told cricket.com.au.

"She bats in the top-order in WBBL, but in 50-over cricket I think she could be that middle-order player – you look at what Rachael Haynes does for the Australian team batting at four, five, six, she controls the middle order and solves problems for Australia.

"If they lose wickets, she can steady the ship and if not, she can come in and be quite aggressive and score to close to a run a ball if not above – I see Jess as a real option for that role (for Australia) in the future and I want to give her every chance to show her class."

Image Id: 56A758302C5449BA9381F94B7220ABE1 Image Caption: Coach Ashley Noffke and captain Jess Jonassen will lead the Heat // Getty

The squad

Queensland field a similar group of local players to the Brisbane Heat outfit also led by the Noffke-Jonassen combination, albeit with one major inclusion: that of Beth Mooney, the former Heat batter who sensationally relocated to the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL, but who remains a Queensland squad member.

Holly Ferling (Stars) is the only other squad member to have plied her trade for a club other than the Heat during WBBL|06.

The Fire have lost a quartet of players from last year, with Sammy-Jo Johnson moving to NSW, and Josie Dooley and Jemma Barsby to South Australia.

Teenagers Georgia Voll, Ellie Johnston and Caitlin Mair, who are all still in high school, have signed on for their first major contracts.

Australia’s tour of New Zealand, starting in March, will likely see Queensland lose the services of skipper Jonassen and batter Beth Mooney for the business end of the season.

Contract list: Tess Cooper, Meagan Dixon, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Laura Kimmince, Mikayla Hinkley, Ellie Johnston, Jess Jonassen (c)*, Delissa Kimmince* (unavailable for selection), Charli Knott, Caitlin Mair, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney*, Georgia Prestwidge, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll

*Denotes a Cricket Australia contracted player

In: Tess Cooper, Ellie Johnston, Charli Knott, Caitlin Mair, Georgia Voll

Out: Jemma Barsby (South Australia), Josie Dooley (South Australia), Sammy-Jo Johnson (New South Wales), Kirby Short (retired), Haidee Birkett

Last year's result: Third (four wins, three losses, one no result)

Fixtures:

January 30 v ACT Meteors, Chisholm Oval, Canberra

February 20 v South Australia, AB Field, Brisbane

March 5 v Victoria, Junction Oval

March 7 v Tasmania, Blundstone Arena

March 19 v New South Wales, North Sydney Oval

March 21 v New South Wales, North Sydney Oval

* Dates and venues for two matches v WA are TBC

The inside word with coach Ashley Noffke

How the team is shaping up

"It’s been a long wait but a good break which was needed after the WBBL bubble.

"We’ve definitely got a really nice buzz, I’ve been so impressed with our group coming back in. Everyone has been helping each other out, keeping a keen eye on each other and making sure everyone is okay.

"I think our group is growing stronger and stronger on the off the field really, I’m excited to see the cricket they’ll play."

Players/s to watch

"Grace Harris is so close to breaking the shackles of the type of player she wants to be," Noffke said of the off-spin bowling allrounder.

"In the WBBL in her eyes she underperformed with the bat, but she bowled beautifully throughout the competition.

"She’s got all the talent in the world but batting that time under pressure is her key (focus) now.

"She’s not just a hitter, she’s a batter and she can outperform a lot of players in the country but it’s on her now (to show that).

"We want to give her every opportunity to show the class in her batting that she has … she’s enjoying her cricket at the moment which is a good sign.

"She’s the type of player who can solve the problems in front of her, but in the past she probably hasn’t trusted herself to make those decisions… (but) she’s got a good cricket brain.

"Holly Ferling is also coming in and bowling as well as she has done in the past two or three years that I’ve been around, and I think she’s ready to be a leading bowler in the competition."

Young gun/s

"Georgia Voll raised her head in the WBBL and I think she’s going to set a good standard of the kind of cricketer she can be as a top-order batter (for Queensland).

"Charli Knott is incredibly underrated across the country from what I’ve seen, it’s just about giving her opportunities to play, and I think Courtney Sippel is really growing as a player."

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"Every state looks very competiti, and Victoria have a lot of Australian representatives so if they’re not thinking they’ll be a dominant force, they’ve probably missed the boat.

"But it is difficult for some of those teams when they lose so many players (to Australian duties in March), for other players to come in and do the job.

"For us we’ll lose Mooney and Jonassen for sure, but from there we’ve got a pretty solid squad."