Photo Credit: Malaysia Cricket Association
Nat Sciver admitted she thought an England victory was right up until the final over in a high-scoring thriller against Australia.
Sciver made 109 off just 85 balls to give the defending World Cup champions a sliver of hope heading into the final six balls.
They were delivered by Jonassen, who conceded only three runs and took a sharp caught and bowled to clinch the game for her side as England ended on 298 for eight.
Australia had been set up by a measured 130 from Rachael Haynes at the top of the order to post 310 for three before Alana King took three for 59, but Sciver saw her name up in lights.
She revealed: “I felt like we were going to get it and I think the first ball I wasn’t really sure as to what length she was going to bowl.
“Obviously, she would keep it tight to me, but I felt like if I got that one away, it would have happened a bit easier.
“But Katherine [Brunt] had also come in and played spin really well. That catch to get Katherine out was pretty special.
“That that goes through your hand that goes for four and it could have been a different end, so I’m frustrated.”
Sciver has been in imperious form since the end of a winless Ashes campaign having backed up a century in the warm-up match against Bangladesh with a ton in Hamilton.
“I’m really happy with where I’m at, taking it from the warm-up game, it was important not to let that be a one-off. I’m really happy to be able to get to three figures, but I would have liked to get the win.
“From where we were at the end of the Ashes, I think we were in a pretty, pretty low spot. But to be able to turn that around in a couple of weeks is really important.
“And to be able to take that into the rest of the tournament, I think we’ve already seen a lot of high scoring games, so it’s important for us to do.”
Fellow centurion Haynes made good on a slow start to her innings as she posted a 131-ball 130 in an 196-run partnership with captain Meg Lanning.
And King put in a fitting tribute to her idol Shane Warne as the fellow Victorian leg-spinner took the crucial wickets of Tammy Beaumont and Sophia Dunkley before Jonassen delivered at the death again.
Haynes said: “She [Jonassen] wanted to bowl it. We wanted to use the seam to take the game as deep as we could.
“Nat Sciver was batting exceptionally well and we really dangerous, so we just wanted to use Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt to take the game deep.
“The thing about Jess Jonassen is she’s been a real clutch player for us in the past and really stepped into those moments in years gone by.
“When we were talking about it, she was actually already walking to the bowler’s end to take the ball so I think it was going to be pretty hard to get that over away from her.”
Australia now head to Tauranga to take on Pakistan on Tuesday with England facing the West Indies the next day in Dunedin.
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
