Dean Jones (cricketer)

Dean Mervyn Jones (24 March 196124 September 2020) was an Australian cricket player, coach and commentator who played Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia. He had an excellent record in Test cricket and is best remembered for revolutionising the ODI format. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was recognised as among the best ODI batsmen in the world, a view which has been validated in the retrospective ICC Player Rankings. His batting was often characterised by his agile footwork against both pace and spin, quick running between wickets, and willingness to take risks and intimidate bowlers. In 2019, Jones was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

Domestic career

Jones began his first-class career in the 1981–82 season with Victoria in the Sheffield Shield. Jones also played for Durham and Derbyshire in the English County Championship. Jones captained Derbyshire to second place in the 1996 County Championship, their best finish for 60 years. Jones scored 1,338 runs in the season, more than any other Derbyshire player. He left Derbyshire mid-season in 1997 after disagreements with teammates. Jones also had run-ins with authority and teammates in his home state of Victoria. During his career, he scored 19,188 runs in first-class matches, including 55 centuries and 88 half centuries and a highest score of 324 not out, at an average of 51.85.

International career

Jones was selected on the 1984 tour of the West Indies after Graham Yallop had to pull out due to injury. He was not picked in the original XI, but was drafted into the side after Steve Smith fell ill. Jones himself was very ill before the Test, and deemed his score of 48 on his debut as his "best knock". Between 1984 and 1992, Jones played 52 Test matches for Australia, scoring 3,631 runs, including 11 centuries, at an average of 46.55.

His most notable innings was in only his third Test, against India in the Tied Test in Madras (Chennai) in 1986. Suffering from dehydration in the oppressively hot and humid conditions, Jones was frequently vomiting on the pitch. He wanted to go off the field "retired ill" which led his captain Allan Border to say that if he could not handle the conditions, he would "get a Queenslander" (Greg Ritchie, a Queenslander like Border, was the next man in to bat). This comment spurred Jones to score 210, an innings he considered a defining moment in his career and one of the epic Test innings in Australian cricket folklore. This innings of 210 remains the highest score by an Australian cricketer in India. After the match, Jones was put on to an intravenous drip.

One of the keys to Australia's unexpected victory in the 1987 Cricket World Cup was the batting foundation laid by the top three batsmen - Jones batting at number three behind the openers David Boon and Geoff Marsh. Jones would score a total of 314 runs at an average of 44, with 3 half-centuries. During a 1987 World Cup match against India, one of Jones' shots was changed from a four to a six during the innings break. Australia later won the match by one run. Jones was quoted as saying that he had spoken to the umpires to demand it was changed to a six.

Jones went on to be a mainstay of the Australian Test team middle order over the next six years and being one of the stars of the successful 1989 Ashes tour of England. He was recognised for his efforts by being named as one of Cricketers of the Year in the 1990 edition of Wisden Almanack. He was controversially dropped from the test team at the start of the 1992–93 season, despite having topped the averages in the previous Test series, against Sri Lanka.

Jones stayed in the one-day team a little longer: he was omitted from the one-day team for the 1993 Ashes tour, but managed to force his way back into the team for one last stint during the 1993–94 season. After Jones was dropped from the eighth and final ODI of the series in South Africa, Jones immediately announced his retirement from ODI cricket.

After cricket

After retiring in 1998, he continued to remain involved in cricket as a coach, commentator and writer for ''The Age'' and ''The Sydney Morning Herald''.

He was also a noted fundraiser for people with cancer. On 12 June 2006, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, he was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for ''"service to cricket as a player, coach and commentator, and to the community through fundraising activities for organisations assisting people with cancer"''. In 2007, Jones was named in Australia's "greatest ever ODI team." He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.

Coaching career

Jones worked as the head coach of Islamabad United in Pakistan Super League (PSL). During his reign, Islamabad United won the 2016 and 2018 Pakistan Super Leagues. In November 2019, Jones became head coach of PSL team Karachi Kings, replacing Mickey Arthur ahead of the 5th edition of Pakistan Super League.

In October 2017, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) appointed Jones as the interim head coach for Afghanistan's Intercontinental Cup fixture against Hong Kong.

Commentary career

He received the nickname "Professor Deano" after giving a pitch report for a television show by dressing up as a professor prior to the group stage match of the 2004 Asia Cup between India and Sri Lanka which was at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on 18 July 2004. He eventually emerged as one of the prominent broadcasters in cricket and was known for his work as commentator with Indian Premier League select dugout show in Star Sports. He also served as a summariser for BBC
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