Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen en-route to her superb 110 at Scarborough today, where she also contributed 3-32 from 10 overs of spin.
Jess Jonassen is loving her time at Yorkshire, despite the side yet to hit the heights she believes are achievable this season.
The White Rose have won two of their opening eight matches in the Metro Bank One-Day, but it is certainly not for want of trying from Jonassen’s perspective.
The Queenslander, herself, has hit peak form with the bat with three centuries already in the competition, including 110 against Warwickshire in Yorkshire’s latest defeat at Scarborough today.
Incredibly, those three tons are Jonassen’s first in her professional career, so something seems to be clicking this season.
“It’s a combination of things, but obviously I’m really enjoying the environment,” she said. “I’ve always worked hard on my batting, and I also think the climate here makes it a little bit easier as well.
“If I’m batting for 20 overs back home, I’m pretty cooked. But the cooler weather is helping as well as the slightly smaller grounds.
“There are also faster outfields here than in Australia, and I’m trying to make the most of the batting-friendly wickets at the start of the season.
“I was expecting to come over and get a few green seamers, but we’ve had sunshine, and I’m really enjoying my cricket at the moment.
“The opportunity to try something new and knowing I’m the senior player and my role to put in these type of performances is making me feel calm and clear about how I want to play. And that is transferring out onto the pitch.
“I’m making the most of it. But, for a considerable amount of time, I wasn’t able to enjoy batting.”
As for Yorkshire’s current position – two wins from eight added to a tie – Jonassen feels the side is close to finding the kind of results she feels their performances deserve.
“I’m really happy to be contributing to the team, but I think we’ve let ourselves down again in similar areas, which we constantly address before each game,” she added.
“Losing wickets in clumps, not being able to get match-winning middle order partnerships and then not batting out our full 50 overs.
“We were in the game for a fair chunk of it, and we keep showing up and don’t make it easy for the opposition. But we’re still searching for that one game where we are on the front foot from the beginning.
“There were some great performances, and it’s great experience for the girls. But it needs a slight percentage of improvement across the board.
“If everyone can find that one or two percent extra individually, then collectively that can have a big impact.
“It’s not rocket science – it’s about finding those small improvements.”
