And so ‘Jonball’ is born. “I’ve just made that up,” said Nat Sciver-Brunt, as she described the new ethos coach Jon Lewis has brought to the England team after they thumped West Indies by seven wickets in their T20 World Cup opener in Paarl. “But we haven’t ever spoken about Bazball [as a team], so let’s make Jonball a thing.”
The last time England met these opponents in a T20 international, just over seven weeks ago, West Indies mustered 43. Captain Hayley Matthews almost surpassed that total single-handed on Saturday, striking 42 off 32 balls, as her team racked up 135 for seven.
That seemed a good total until England got to the crease and decided they wanted an early finish. Suddenly, the ball was flying over the infield in frantic manner, with 58 runs coming in the powerplay – 38 of them in boundaries. That’s Jonball, folks.
Alice Capsey’s comeback was cut short by Afy Fletcher when she was stumped in the eighth over. But Nat Sciver-Brunt (40no off 30) and Heather Knight (32no off 22) continued the ferocious pace. The win came with 33 balls to spare – Knight smashing one final six over long-off to seal the deal.
“The energy is the best that I’ve felt,” Nat Sciver-Brunt said. “It feels like we’re in a really good place.”
With the Women’s Premier League auction two days away, it was also a good time to make a statement about her T20 prowess, though Nat Sciver-Brunt said she was conflicted on that issue. “I wish we weren’t playing a match on the same day. It’s a strange time to be together as a group, but also having numbers put on everyone.”
Matthews smashed eight boundaries, while Shemaine Campbelle chipped in with 34 from 37 balls. By contrast, the return of Stafanie Taylor after a five-month absence with a back injury was an anti-climax. After overturning an lbw decision four balls into her innings – denying Lauren Bell a maiden World Cup wicket – she scored three in the next five overs, swallowing up 15 balls before falling lbw to the leg-spinner Sarah Glenn.
Four overs later, Sophie Ecclestone trapped Matthews leg-before – the first of three scalps for the left-arm spinner – while her teammates defied the heat with a couple of exceptional feats in the field. Chinelle Henry was run out by a direct hit from Knight at cover in the 17th over, three balls after Amy Jones snatched an edge from Campbelle, standing up to Katherine Sciver-Brunt.
‘Jonball’ is clearly not without risk. Danni Wyatt was caught after just failing to clear the boundary rope, while Dunkley’s innings (34 off 18) was ended by a sensational caught and bowled from Chinelle Henry, snatched one-handed out of nowhere. But as Nat Sciver-Brunt said, that is kind of the point.
“We’ve found a new way of playing, and for it to be OK to fail – that freedom has really allowed us to switch a little bit,” she said. “It feels like we had a bit of time in limbo. The switch really came when Jon Lewis came on board.”
