Jess Jonassen ruled out of WBBL|12 with hip complaint

Jess Jonassen will not play for Brisbane Heat in the WBBL 2026-27 because she has a hip problem. Her doctor has told her to miss the season and come back in the new year. The Heat are currently negotiating her replacement with an international player, who they will likely announce prior to Friday's opening match.

"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. "The advice was to have this period of recovery now, so I can be available for the remainder of the season. We considered whether it was available again to play through injury.

"The plan is to return to training in December and be prepared to play again in our next WNCL match," the statement reads.

Jonassen, the second-most capped player in WBBL history, last played a WNCL fixture for Queensland at the start of the month and their next game is on January 4. However, Jonassen's auction on October 28 is expected to bring in a lot of money, and that leg of the tournament will clash with the WPL in India.

Mark Sorell, the head coach of the Heat, stated, "We're obviously pretty devastated for JJ." "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."

"While she recovers, we'll lean into her group experience, and it will be a good opportunity for us to work with her on our match day planning,"

Heat had earlier announced their final squad signing on Monday with pace bowler Catherine White confirmed. Their first game is a home fixture against Sydney Sixers on October 30.

Throughout her career, from 2015 to 2016 and 2025 to 2026, Jonassen represented Heat in the WBBL. She has turned out in 153 games, taking 184 wickets, the most in Big Bash for a team, for men or women.