After 12 years of grit and perseverance, Amy Jones made the dream milestone she’s been waiting on! She has just registered her maiden international century! The wicketkeeper-batter, who plays for England, has achieved this milestone while playing her first T20 match against West Indies at Derby. She has had a long tough road filled with 225 T20 matches and 190 innings. Last but certainly not least, she has passed the century mark on this historic day.
Leading up to this breakthrough, Jones had been dangerously close on multiple occasions. She’s scored in the 90s three times, all while representing England with pride in her national shirt. Her near misses are 94 against India in 2018, 91 against the West Indies in 2019 and a sensational unbeaten 92 against New Zealand earlier this year. Each of these cases had fans and teammates alike hopeful yet frustrated, as her first century continued to be just out of reach.
In her latest performance, Jones found herself on the cusp of history, having been dropped on 92 and 93 during her innings. With a target of 181 to draw the series against the West Indies, she had finally passed the point. Her equalising goal achieved a personal objective and furthered England’s historic victory.
Despite earlier struggles in her career, including a painful experience during the second ODI in Melbourne amid the Ashes drubbing, Jones remained steadfast in her resolve. Ranked first in the world, she made 23 openers for England between 2016 – 2019. Now, with Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards at the helm, she is back in that lane, swaggering with fresh confidence.
Jones said she was thankful for Edwards’ nurturing warning style. “She said, ‘you’ve scored big runs at county level opening and you did pretty well opening before so have a good go at it’,” Jones recounted.
The significance of her achievement was palpable. Jones stated, “It feels really special to make the century. It feels like it has been a long time… so it just feels like a lot of relief and a huge amount of pride.”
Her England teammate Katherine Sciver-Brunt, the veteran seam bowler, was ecstatic in her praise for Jones’ record. “I am over the moon for her that she has got the first hundred out of the way under some pressure,” she remarked. Sciver-Brunt expressed her belief in Jones’ abilities, stating, “I never thought she lost that spot… she just took that she would be four, five or six.”
Leave a Reply