
Picture by Chris Hyde/Getty Images. Success for Yorkshire is this way. Jess Jonassen is coming to Headingley.
New overseas signing Jess Jonassen has quite the career record behind her, be it wickets, runs and trophies.
Jonassen, the Australian left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, will arrive at Yorkshire ahead of next summer having surely broken through the 700-wicket barrier in her senior career, while she has not long since passed 7,000 all-format runs as well.
World Cup wins – 50-over and T20, Ashes successes, Big Bash and State crowns. The Queenslander is quite the coup for the White Rose county, who have signed her to a two-year contract at the start of their Tier One journey.
Jonassen was born in the town of Emerald.
Safe to say, Rich Pyrah has got himself a gem!
Jonassen, the captain of Big Bash side Brisbane Heat, holds two notable records in that competition – both the women’s and men’s.
She is the all-time leading wicket-taker with 179 and the all-time leading appearance maker with 147. When you look at the women’s competition, she is 20 wickets out in front of the next most prolific bowler.
Jonassen is a versatile bowler in that she varies her pace and can take the new ball or bowl at the death.
Her captaincy experience will be key around an emerging squad led by her Queensland and Brisbane team-mate Lauren Winfield-Hill.
Jonassen, aged 32, has regularly batted in the middle and top order for a number of sides.
She has a Test Match best score of 99, against England at Canterbury in August 2015, and best bowling returns of 5-27 and 5-12 in ODI and T20I cricket against New Zealand and India respectively.
She has previous experience of playing in England, representing Lancashire Thunder in the days of the Kia Super League as well as playing for the Welsh Fire in the Hundred. She will be representing the latter once again next month.
Jonassen combined the early stages of her international career with Australia, which started at the beginning of 2012, with completing a Bachelor of Law degree.
She is also a keen guitarist in her spare time and has been known to perform for her Brisbane Heat team-mates.

Picture by Martin Keep/Getty Images. Rich Pyrah has locked in the Brisbane Heat captain for 2026 and 2027.