Dean Jones was a true blue Victorian who loved his cricket. Much has been said about how fantastic a player he was and that his passion for the game was unparalleled. This generation of Indians like me, may not have seen him play live, but for us, he will always be Professor Deano. One can remember that the man had a theory for everything, and the truth is said, some of them were outrageous. But that didn’t stop him, he reveled in quarrels, and even when some of his ideas were rubbished it didn’t stop him from coming up with more. That was Deano, he never backed down.
His career-defining double century against India in Madras (as Chennai was known at the time) embodied the spirit of Australian cricket. Amongst an upset stomach, cramping, sweat, and a dusty Chepauk wicket, Deano stood up. Against a quality spin attack in their own backyard, Jones was on electrolytes but didn’t give up. Why? Because his captain Allan Border told him that maybe Victorians aren’t as strong as Queenslanders. That statement worked as a tonic like no other and there was Jones battling for his country in the harshest conditions our sport can offer. Jones never backed down, simple.
In a pre-planned move during a 1993 World Series cup game against the mighty West Indies, he tried to put of Curtly Ambrose. Jones knew how Curtly used to love his white wristband while bowling and he told the umpire that he was unable to sight the ball because of the wrist band. Little did he know that Ambrose would get so riled up that he would want to not just get the Australians out, but hurt them. In Deano’s own words, after a deadly over from Ambrose, he was being sledded by 11 West Indians and one Australian.
Yes Mark Taylor on the other end told Jones “What are you doing? I have two kids. What are you thinking?”. The Victorian knew that he had made an error in judgment as Ambrose went on to take 5-32 in a West Indian victory. Having said that, given a choice would he do it again; the answer is yes and he wouldn’t even give it a second thought because he NEVER BACKED DOWN.
Dean Jones’ ultimate legacy to the game is his contribution to white-ball cricket. He scored more than 6000 ODI runs for Australia and that too at a time when it wasn’t taken very seriously. In that sense, he was ahead of his time and he could see what the future of the game looked like. The right-hander revolutionized the white ball game Down Under and showed the way it had to be played. It’s no surprise then that one of Australia’s finest ODI players, Adam Gilchrist was inspired by watching Jones go about his white-ball business.
Dean Jones was also one of the earliest purists to welcome the T20 game. In fact, he was one of the most staunch advocates of the format when it was being dissed by all pundits. He loved his T20 theories and didn’t mind putting them to practice as he coached in various T20 leagues. In fact, he walked the talk and went on to become a hugely successful T20 coach. In Dean Jones’ tenure as coach, Islamabad United picked up two PSL titles in 2016 and 2018. He truly was a cricket tragic and it was almost fitting that he was working in cricket till the very last day of his life.
You went to soon Deano, your energy and maverick theories will surely be missed. Our thoughts are with the Jones family in these difficult times.
RIP great man!