Former Australia cricketer Dean Jones died of a stroke on Thursday in Mumbai. He was 59.
Dean Jones was in India to fulfil his commitments for the host broadcasters of the Indian Premier League. He suffered a massive heart attack at a hotel in Mumbai after 12 PM on Thursday.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing away of Mr. Dean Mervyn Jones AM. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest. We express our deep condolences to his family and stand ready to support them in this difficult time. We are in touch with the Australian High Commission to make the necessary arrangements.
“Dean Jones was one of the great ambassadors of the game associating himself with Cricket development across South Asia. He was passionate about discovering new talent and nurturing young Cricketers. He was a champion commentator whose presence and presentation of the game always brought joy to millions of fans. He will be sorely missed by everyone at Star and his millions of fans across the globe.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends,” Star Sports India, the host broadcasters for IPL 2020, confirmed the news of Jones’s passing in a statement.
Dean Jones played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia during an international career which spanned 8 years between 1984 and 1992. He scored 3631 runs in red-ball cricket at an average of 46.55 with 11 hundreds and 14 half-centuries.
In one-day internationals he amassed 6068 runs at 44.61 with 7 hundreds and 46 fifties.
Popularly known as “Professor Deano”, the Victorian was famous for his attacking batting style as an opener. Jones played 245 first-class matches in which he amassed a total of 19,188 runs at an average of 51.85 with 55 centuries and 88 half-centuries.
During his prime, the former Australian batsman was all energy and aggression. He exuded an aura in One Day Internationals (ODI), with shots that blended the conventional and the unorthodox while embellishing it with frenetic running between the wickets. He was a sharp fielder too and he was part of the 1987 World Cup winning squad helmed by the indomitable Allan Border.
The International Cricket Council has expressed sadness at the passing of Jones. In a statement, ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “We are extremely sad to hear of Dean’s sudden death and I would like to extend our deep condolences to his family and friends on behalf of the ICC.
“Dean was a prolific batter playing in 52 Tests and 164 ODIs and was part of the 1987 Australia team who won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. He had a significant impact on the game of cricket as a player, as an advocate for the development of the sport as a coach and latterly in his role as a broadcaster. He will be sorely missed by all those in the cricket family.”
One of his most memorable Test innings came in 1986, when in the heat and humidity of Chennai, he battled exhaustion and illness to make a heroic 210 in what would be only the second tied Test ever.
He retired from international cricket in 1994 and went on to become a coach and more recently a broadcaster commentating on cricket around the world.
