dean jones

Dean Jones wrote the book on one-day cricket – literally. He played a new game in which he walked down the pitch to fast bowlers, ran frenetically between wickets and turned outfielding into an attacking occupation. He was a natural showman who was for a while as popular as any other player in Australia. Yet he was also a classic cricketer who once made a triple-century for Victoria and remained their record run-maker until 2008, when Brad Hodge passed his tally. He averaged 46 in Tests, and in the tied Test at Madras in 1986-87 played what Bob Simpson said was the greatest innings for Australia. At the end of his 210 he ended up in hospital on a saline drip.

Jones was a significant part of the team’s revival, playing in the ’87 World Cup and ’89 Ashes wins, but was dropped while still in his prime. Turbulent stints as captain of Victoria and Derbyshire followed, for his personality was bound not to please everyone. He remained devoted to the game and since retirement has been a forthright commentator. An on-air slip in 2006, when he was heard calling the devout Muslim cricketer Hashim Amla a “terrorist”, took him off the circuit for a while but he eventually resumed his broadcast work. Jones was coach of the title-winning Islamabad franchise side in the inaugural Pakistan Super League in 2016.

On September 24, 2020, at the age of 59, Jones died of a heart attack in Mumbai, a day after commentating in an IPL match.
ESPNcricinfo staff