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Sport

Jess Jonassen credits attitude for Australia's World Cup success

Jess Jonassen says a desire to always improve is why the Australian women's cricket team are world champions in both white-ball formats.

Australia won its seventh ODI World Cup in New Zealand last year, adding the title to the T20 championship it defended on home soil in 2020.

The Australians hold the world record for most consecutive ODI victories, a 26-match winning streak that ended in 2021, while they have triumphed in their past 12 appearances in the 50-over-a-side game.

Their next challenge is a three-match ODI series against Pakistan, which starts in Brisbane on Monday.

Jonassen said Australia prided itself on setting the task of constantly finding room for improvement.

"The thing that makes our team so good is that willingness to never be satisfied, I guess," she told ABC Sport.

"It's not necessarily looking for perfection but it's finding ways to keep improving, even if you are winning.

"It's sort of identifying those little things that you can do to keep trying to stay ahead of the game."

Jonassen credited Australia's domestic set-up for the success it has enjoyed at the international level.

"We've got the depth and quality of players coming through that when we have retirements or injuries, we've got international-hardened cricketers already," she said.

"So I think it's things like that really help and it drives that competitive culture within the squad as well."

An example of Australia's ability to slot players in to replace its established stars came during the T20 series away to India last month.

Jonassen missed all but one of the five matches against India due to a hamstring injury, while captain Meg Lanning was unavailable after taking an extended break from the game following the Commonwealth Games.

Australia won the series 4-1.

Lanning will skipper Australia in both the ODI and T20 series against Pakistan, with her return warmly welcomed by Jonassen.

"It's just really good to have her presence around and she just brings this relaxed mentality and composure," she said.

"It's been really good."

Australia plays Pakistan at Brisbane's Allan Border Field in the opening two ODIs, before the third match of the series is contested at North Sydney Oval on January 21.

Three T20Is will follow, with North Sydney Oval (January 24), Hobart's Bellerive Oval (January 26) and Canberra's Manuka Oval (January 29) hosting the matches.

Australia will defend its T20 World Cup title in South Africa next month.

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