Picture by George Franks. Jess Jonassen and Sterre Kalis shared a century stand at Emirates Old Trafford today.
Rich Pyrah was full of praise for his “outstanding” Yorkshire side as they beat Metro Bank One-Day Cup champions Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.
Jess Jonassen starred with a century and four wickets, but there were other contributors to the county’s second win in four games this season – this by 83 runs.
Sterre Kalis made 45 with the bat and off-spinner Claudie Cooper struck three times with the ball.
Head coach Pyrah said: “I thought we were outstanding all day today.
“Being 13-2 in a tough situation, being put into bat at 10.30am in April, and the ball just nibbled around a little bit. I thought we absorbed that pressure really well.
“You’re not going to get much better than that partnership between Jess Jonassen and Sterre Kalis. It put us into a really good position, and then Jess just shows her class again.
“That hundred, the way she timed it, and her game management was excellent. Then she comes on and gets 4-30!
“We knew she was a good player when we signed her, but she’s just been outstanding.
“We know good spinners in women’s cricket can do really well, and we hadn’t got a left-arm spinner in the whole club. So it was an area that we wanted to fill. But signing somebody like her, you’re signing three players in one, really.
“You’re signing her experience and the knowledge of the game but also a top-order batter and one of the best left-arm spinners in the world as well.
“She’s been great around the girls.
“When Jess came off, she said as the ball got softer, it was harder to score later on, so it gave us an idea of what we had to do in the second innings and a real clear game plan of bowling nice and straight and at the top of the stumps.
“And I knew with Jess up our sleeves, if we’d got a couple of wickets before she came on and they were behind the rate, then I thought we were well in the game.”
