Cliff Notes – Amy Jones: ‘Setting the tone is a cool responsibility’
- Amy Jones celebrated her maiden international century, contributing to England’s 108-run victory over West Indies, marking a significant milestone after 12 years in international cricket.
- Jones expressed confidence in her role as an opener, highlighting the importance of setting the tone for the innings and adapting her batting approach from middle-order to opening.
- The England team is embracing a more fluid leadership structure, with Jones participating in a three-player leadership group, aimed at fostering leadership skills among players and enhancing team dynamics.
Amy Jones: ‘Setting the tone is a cool responsibility’
As Amy Jones raised her bat to celebrate reaching a long-awaited maiden international century, a broad smile spread across the face of England head coach Charlotte Edwards.
Four days later, Jones couldn’t remember what Edwards had said to her after she walked off the pitch with 122 next to her name. But she could remember her coach’s smile, after setting up a resounding 108-run victory against West Indies in the first of three ODIs in Derby.
It reflected a plan coming together to great effect for the team and Jones, who finally reached a landmark that had eluded her for 12 years and more than 200 games representing her country across formats.
“In terms of the role suiting me, I definitely think it does,” Jones, the England Women’s wicketkeeper, beamed on the eve of Wednesday’s second ODI in Leicester. “I’ve always liked facing the new ball, the challenge of that, and then also having the chance to set the tone. That’s a really cool responsibility to have.
“I remember when I moved down into the middle-order I was initially disappointed, so I guess I sort of tapped into that feeling and was happy to take that first opportunity.
“It’s obviously been quite a long time coming with a couple of close ones, but a good few years ago. To get over the line, it’s a big feeling of relief, but a lot of pride and it was a very special day.”
Jones had opened the batting 22 times previously in ODIs, but not since the 2019 Women’s Ashes, and 18 times in T20Is, most recently during the World Cup in Australia in 2020.
But in all seven of her innings this season for The Blaze in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, Jones had opened with Tammy Beaumont, the pair reprising that partnership for England brilliantly with a 222-run stand and Beaumont posting a score of 107. In her previous three games for The Blaze, Jones had scored 41, 52 and 80 after starting with 30, 35, 0 and 8.
“There was a lot of learning through that, times when I got off to good starts and got out in the thirties and I guess just figuring out a good tempo through an innings,” Jones said.
“Going from batting towards the end or middle of the innings, typically your tempo’s quite consistent, you get in and then you try and accelerate throughout. Opening is a bit different and there’s the challenge of navigating trickier patches throughout, so I’d say that’s probably been the biggest learning from those games.
“When Lottie said I was going to be opening, it definitely gave me a lot of confidence and belief that how I go about it could be a really good match for what she wants at the top of the order. So I think from that, definitely a bit of freedom just to go out there.
“Something I worked really hard at in the middle order was almost ignoring the scoreboard and just playing the ball. So I think that all still applies at the top but I guess it’s setting the tone as opposed to reacting to a different situation.”
Jones has found herself in another familiar-yet-unfamiliar role, being named in a three-player leadership group for the T20I series against West Indies last month to support new captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Jones briefly captained England in the absence of Sciver-Brunt and her predecessor, Heather Knight, during India’s last visit in 2022, and was recently part of Knight’s support crew alongside then vice-captain Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone.
For the T20Is against West Indies, Jones shared those duties with vice-captain Charlie Dean and Sophia Dunkley but made way for Kate Cross to join those two as part of a more fluid leadership group under Edwards’ tenure.
“It’s a really good thing and a good way of hearing different voices, giving responsibility to different players and I guess looking to the future as well,” Jones said. “We probably haven’t had that obvious list of potential captains really.
“I think there’s a lot of people that would do a great job at it, but looking a bit further on, this is definitely going to improve everyone’s leadership and confidence in that area as well, which I think is huge, the belief that you can be a leader amongst the group. Sharing that out is a great way of spreading it wide, I suppose.”
Ecclestone wasn’t named in either squad to face West Indies, instead playing domestic cricket after a knee injury.
Fellow left-arm spinner Linsey Smith took a five-wicket haul on ODI debut in the first game against West Indies, six and a half years since making her T20I debut, illustrating Edwards’ willingness to test the growing depth in the women’s game in this country.
Similarly, seam bowler Em Arlott put in a player-of-the-match performance in just her second international match, the second T20I in Hove, some four years after she was first called up to an England squad.
Both have enjoyed strong starts to the domestic season, which Edwards had said, upon replacing Jon Lewis as head coach in April, would be rewarded and expected when it came to national selection.
“On the whole, across all the different disciplines, we’ve just got so much competition within the squad now, which is brilliant and it’s where everyone wants to be,” Jones said. “It will improve us as a team and as individuals too.”