An emotive Jess Jonassen has explained what "the second coming" of Meg Lanning has done to the spirit of the Australian squad ahead of the T20 World Cup defence in South Africa next month.
The 30-year-old Lanning took a break from cricket after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with the team she has captained to the greatest heights since 2014.
Her return to the Australian team and the captaincy for the ODI and T20 series against Pakistan, starting in Brisbane on Monday, has buoyed Australian spinner Jonassen who has played her career alongside one of the greats.
"I am absolutely pumped. When we were told a few weeks ago that Meg was coming back I must admit I got a little bit teary," Jonassen said.
"She did a little video message, and true to Meg she was a bit awkward not knowing the best way to do it, but I couldn't have been happier for that news."
Jonassen said there was a feeling of trepidation when she first viewed the video message.
"She started off (saying), 'I am not sure the right way to do this...' and my heart sunk initially," Jonassen revealed.
"I thought, 'Oh no, she is going to tell us that she is done', but she kept going on and saying how much she loves playing cricket and being a part of the Australian women's cricket team.
"The longer the video went on the tearier I got. I just had this goofy smile on my face. I know what it is like at different points to feel a bit low but for somebody in her role within our team, in society and as the leader of such a successful team there is a weight on the shoulders."
Jonassen said she got emotional when she sent a text back to Lanning saying how pleased she was for her. The video has given Jonassen a great feeling about her friend as Australia prepare to defend their T20 World Cup title.
"She genuinely looked happy. That was for me the biggest thing, seeing the difference in her as a human instead of knowing she was coming back to playing cricket.
"I am really excited to see what the second coming of Meg is going to be like (based on) how successful the first stint for her was pre having that break.
"She worked in a cafe for a little while, I think her local cafe', so for her to be able to have those experiences and realise where she wanted to be...that's a win for us."
