Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen has picked Australia, India, England and Sri Lanka as the sides most capable of entering the knockouts of the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup, to be held in Dubai and Sharjah from October 3-20.

Australia enter the showpiece event as the defending champion aiming to grab their fourth straight title. India’s best showing came in the form of a runners-up finish in 2020 edition, where they lost to Australia in the final. England were inaugural winners of the T20 World Cup in 2009 while Sri Lanka come on the back of noteworthy series wins and a Women’s Asia Cup title, where they beat India in the final.

“In terms of the top four teams, I have to say my own country Australia. I’ve seen first-hand how hard everyone has worked, not only over this pre-season. Since that South Africa T20 World Cup (win) as well (in 2023), obviously a little bit of change. But I feel like the squad and the girls have been building nicely for this World Cup.

“There’s been a few series where we haven’t quite performed well the way we wanted to. But seeing the performances that they’ve been putting in and the hard work that they’ve been doing – I think when it comes to World Cups and big tournaments, statistically no one’s better than Australia,” said Jess to IANS in a virtual interaction during ABC-International Development’s cricket commentary and mojo programme at the Australian High Commission.

She also touched upon how conditions in the UAE bring a different element of challenge in the World Cup. “India is well and truly a front runner. The depth of players and versatility that they have in their sport that’s over there. I guess they’re experiencing conditions in the UAE as well, which is something that Australia is also getting, as we’ve never played in the UAE before.

“So yes, we’ve played in different subcontinent pitches and conditions, but I think no relative knowledge will be a challenging factor. We’ve been under another illusion that the pool that the Aussies are in is one of the toughest ones. But in saying that, I don’t think there’s going to be a single easy game in this entire World Cup, which is super exciting.”

Talking of other potential knockout contenders, Jess noted, “England’s obviously always up there as well and definitely the third team. They’re currently over there for a pre-season camp and they always take camps to Oman and from my understanding, the conditions are quite similar in the UAE. They have a really experienced side as well and some of the best players in the world are part of their side in Sophie Ecclestone and Nat Sciver-Brunt.

“Fourth for me, it’s almost a bit of a tie, but I’m not going to sit on the fence and going with Sri Lanka to be fair. Obviously the most recent Asia Cup champions as well, they’ve won some series and games against some top sides. To think that they’re actually in a bit of a purple patch at the moment and really performing really well.”

“Obviously, Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samawickrama as well, the way that they’re performing and they’ve brought back (Inoka) Ranaweera as well for a little bit of experience in the bowling department. But in those conditions, if any one of those players sort of fire, they’ll actually be quite a challenging opponent.”

Recently, former India captain Mithali Raj talked about how the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side is missing the services of a sixth bowling option. But Jess, who’s earned 105 T20I caps for Australia, expressed a different opinion, adding the team that bats the best against spin bowling in the tournament will win the silverware at the Dubai International Stadium on October 20.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen those comments. I don’t necessarily agree, as it’s sort of, if you’ve got a lot of the time, you might not need that sixth bowling option. Like, yes, it will be time for you to do it, but with the way that sort of a lot of teams are going to line up, yes, you would be surprised if it wasn’t heavily focused on spin.

“But equally, you have someone like Jemimah Rodrigues, who can bowl if she absolutely has to, and does a decent amount of job. In the T20 game, it could be that sixth bowler who won’t even need to bowl one over. But whoever plays spin the best, as opposed to whoever has the best spinners or the best spin attack, will prevail.

“It will come down to the batting, and who bats best in those conditions, to be completely honest with you. There’s all the sides of there, who have some quality spin bowlers in them. So however you can best integrate those best players with the bat, that’s going to probably be the team that will go away with the trophy at the end of it.”

The upcoming T20 World Cup will also be the first time Jess will not be playing for Australia, as a strong spin-bowling group of Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, Alana King and Ashleigh Gardner meant she didn’t find a place in the 15-member squad.

Jess acknowledged her disappointment over missing the tournament but emphasised the importance of focusing on what she can control with an optimistic mindset. “I’m only human so it’s challenging. I’m obviously disappointed to have missed out, but equally I’m proud of myself in the sense that I know within myself there was literally nothing more I could have done to gain selection.”

“I was proud of the way I performed in the different competitions around the world, whether that be the WPL or the Hundred in England. I was really proud of those performances; so for me that’s what I’m trying to focus on. It’s challenging being my first ever T20 World Cup that I’ve been missing in my career. That’s challenging in itself, but for me it’s sort of the mindset that I’m trying to take is a more positive one.

“I still get to be back in Australia, captaining my state (Queensland) which is something I guess I’ve missed out on for the last little period where the Australian players haven’t been available for our 50 over domestic competition. So for me to be able to do that and give back I guess to a team that’s given me so much and be able to just go out there, perform and enjoy being out on a cricket field.

“I’ve said to a few people that I just want to have a positive impact in whatever team I’m a part of, whatever jersey I’m wearing – I want to just give my all to that team. I meant to try and look back at what I’ve been in recent times – it’s just to stay really present and literally have control over the controllables or do what just there’s, as so many things go out of your control.”

“Selection for me has been one of those recently. But all I can control is my performance or attitude and my work ethic and I’m doing everything I can so that none of that could be questioned,” concluded Jess.