New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) In a major blow for Brisbane Heat, their former captain Jess Jonassen has been ruled out of the Women’s Big Bash League 12 due to a hip complaint, the franchise confirmed on Monday.
This would be the second straight disrupted season for Jonassen after the Aussie spinner missed four matches in the previous edition of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
Jonassen eyes a return to the field by New Year and was “bitterly disappointed” to be missing out on the upcoming season, which gets underway on Thursday.
“Last year I was managing a shoulder injury and tried to play through until it got too much for me and was having an effect on both my own and the team’s performances, as well as my mental health,” Jonassen said in a club statement.
“We considered whether playing through injury was available again, but the advice was to have this period of recovery now, so I can be available for the rest of the season.
“The plan is to be back training in December and be ready to play again in our next WNCL fixture,” Jonassen added.
Meanwhile, Heat coach Mark Sorell conceded that the legendary spinner’s absence would be a blow, but the franchise would lean on her for planning. “We’re obviously pretty devastated for JJ,” Sorell said.
“She has a good attitude to these sorts of things, and naturally we’ll wrap our arms around her this week as we get ready to play.
“We’ll lean into her experience around the group while she recovers and it will be a good chance for us to work with her around our match day planning,” he added.
Heat are currently in negotiations for finding a replacement for her with an international player. The announcement is expected to be made before Heat’s tournament opener against Sydney Sixers on Friday, the club confirmed.
Notably, Jonassen is the most capped player in WBBL history. She is also the most prolific wicket-taker across men’s and women’s competitions.
–IANS
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