Picture by George Franks. Jess Jonassen and Sterre Kalis shared a recovering third-wicket century partnership.
A brilliant all-round performance by Jess Jonassen, who made her first century in professional cricket and followed that with four wickets, led Yorkshire to a stunning Roses win over Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.
Yorkshire won the first ever professional meeting between the two rivals in women’s cricket by 83 runs and have now won two of their four games at the start of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
They also consigned defending champions Lancashire to a third defeat in four.
Australian all-rounder Jonassen has done many amazing things in this game, but she had never scored a century. Here, she contributed a brilliant 108 off 122 balls to underpin 241 all out after being asked to bat.
She then claimed 4-30 from 10 overs of left-arm spin as the Red Rose slipped to 158 all out.
Last week, she also claimed four wickets and hit a half-century in beating The Blaze at Headingley.
After Rachel Slater struck in the opening over of the Lancashire chase to dismiss Eve Jones, a 61-run partnership between Darcey Carter and Seren Smale looked to be the foundation for Lancashire to build on.
Picture by George Franks. Winners are grinners. Yorkshire won the first ever professional women’s Roses match today.
Jonassen had other ideas, dramatically swinging the game Yorkshire’s way with three wickets in three overs to reduce Lancashire to 74-4 in the 19th over.
That proved to be decisive as the hosts failed to recover, ending well short on that 158.
Jonassen and Sterre Kalis (45) shared 109 for the third wicket to rebuild after Kate Cross had struck two early blows.
And it was Cross (4-38) who returned to claim the important wicket of Jonassen, the Australian having made an assured 108, in the 41st over.
That began a tumble of wickets as the Yorkshire innings lost some momentum with the last six falling for 45 in the pursuit of late runs.
The Lancashire reply began in near identical fashion to Yorkshire’s with Eve Jones edging behind off a fine away-swinging delivery from Slater without a run on the board.
Slater, who produced an excellent six over spell of 1-13, was unlucky not to add to her wicket tally as Carter and Smale rebuilt.
Picture by George Franks. Sterre Kalis contributed a pleasing 45 in support of Jess Jonassen, continuing her bright start to 2026.
The introduction of Jonassen had a dramatic effect, as the left-arm spinner claimed a wicket in three consecutive overs, trapping both Carter (18) and Ellie Threlkeld (0) lbw and then taking the big wicket of Smale, caught at mid-off for 46 as Lancashire fell to 74-4.
Fi Morris, for 21, was bowled by Beth Langston, who then turned catcher when Ailsa Lister drove Maddie Ward to mid-off for 16 to put a big dent in any remaining Red Rose ambitions.
From that point, the game as a contest fell away, with Claudie Cooper snapping up the wickets of Cross (16), Tara Norris (4) and Mahika Gaur (18) to finish with 3-24, while Jonassen bowled Grace Potts for her fourth wicket.
Undoubtedly, this was Jonassen’s day.
Put in to bat at the start of the day, Jonassen and Kalis fashioned an excellent recovery from 13 for two after Cross had trapped Lauren Winfield-Hill lbw with the second ball of the match and then nipped one back in her next over to bowl Georgie Boyce for four.
Jonassen twice drove Gaur for four through cover in the second over and her partnership with Kalis began to blossom once the pair took 10 runs off Gaur in the sixth, with their run-a-ball fifty partnership arriving in the 12th over.
Both batters mixed a patient approach with calculated aggression, Jonassen pulling left arm spinner Hannah Jones for six while Kalis, who two days earlier had hit a century for Netherlands against Lancashire’s second team in a T20 warm-up, continuing her fine form with a mixture of front and back foot drives for four.
Picture by George Franks. Captains Lauren Winfield-Hill and Ellie Threlkeld meet at the toss ahead of the first ever professional women’s Roses match.
The milestones continued to come; the Yorkshire hundred arriving from the first ball of the 21st over followed quickly by Jonassen going to her fifty from 66 balls (seven fours, one six), while the century partnership took 115 balls.
That alliance came to an end nine runs later when Kalis played a fraction too soon at a short ball from Gaur and was caught by Lister at short midwicket for 46 to leave Yorkshire 122-3 in the 24th over.
Two maiden overs from Potts built pressure, but Jonassen broke the shackles with a series of powerful drives to push the visitors total along, the Australian reaching the nineties with her second six before going to an assured century from 110 balls.
Ami Campbell, having helped add 54 for the fourth wicket, fell to an outstanding, diving catch by Cross on the long-on boundary, and it was Cross, returning to the Red Rose attack in the 41st over, who enticed Jonassen into a big shot that was well caught on the long-on boundary by Norris to end a fabulous knock on 108.
Further wickets fell in quick succession; Ines Blackwell was smartly stumped by Threlkeld off Norris for 19, Langston pulled a six off Potts in making 13, and Ward hit 18 off 20 balls, before Cross and Gaur wrapped things up with four balls remaining.
But Yorkshire’s total proved to be more than enough.
Next up, Durham at Scarborough on Wednesday.
