Adam Gilchrist reveals why Dean Jones was his favourite player growing up
Adam Gilchrist is often credited with turning one-day cricket on its head, but the former Aussie star credits Dean Jones, almost a generation earlier, for ‘having as big an influence on the game as anyone.’
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What we would all give just to be able to tell Deano one more time how influential he was.
This was my immediate thought after taking in the tragic news that Dean Jones, the cricketer I grew up aspiring to be, had been taken from us all too soon.
I guess part of my sentiment was because there was a frustration inside Deano he carried about with him that he was never afforded coaching opportunities in Australian cricket.
Who knows whether it was because people found he was too creative, too outside the square with his thinking, too risky.
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I don’t know what the reasons were, but it just would have been nice to confirm in his mind that he was so highly respected.
I hope he knew that.
Rod Marsh was the original inspiration for me, such was my interest in wicket-keeping, but when Deano came into the Australian team during my teenage years, I just watched on in wonder and amazement at what he was doing.
Personally, I think he’s had as big an influence on one-day cricket than anyone, and he was an enormous influence on me and the way I went about my cricket in general.
My age group of players grew up watching Deano, and wanting to be Deano.
The first time I met him was at the cricket academy and the Australian team were there as a squad training leading into the 1992 World Cup.
I just thought he was superhuman really, meeting him for the first time. I didn’t think it was quite real.
For such a revered and highly regarded player, it was an odd finish for him at international cricket, but then he played on for four seasons of Sheffield Shield cricket and the legacy he forged for me and my era just by playing against us cannot be underestimated.
The Langers, the Pontings, the Martyns, all of us were beneficiaries from his commitment to the game and love of the game, wanting to pass on his knowledge and skill by continuing to play for Victoria.
Just through the sheer intensity of it, Sheffield Shield cricket was the school of hard knocks and I’m sure initially Deano was motivated to win back his place in the Australian team, but I also believe there was a purpose bubbling inside of him to try and get the next generation ready.
There’s no doubt he played a major role in doing that.
I spoke to Brett Lee on Thursday night and from what I am told, he was absolutely heroic in his efforts.
His composure and how educated he was on what the requirements were with CPR was just extraordinary.
He was desperate to try and save Dean, and he thought he had.
Scott Styris, who was there in Mumbai, messaged and said he couldn’t speak any more highly of Brett and the courage and strength he showed in that moment. I want people to know that.
The messaging between all the ex-players on Thursday night was a really binding experience.
A couple of months ago, we had Justin Langer, Geoff Marsh and Tom Moody over for lunch and after a few drinks we tried to call every member of the 1989 Ashes touring squad.
We managed to get through to all of them bar two. Deano’s message to us that day, was talking about what a strong community and brotherhood we have.
The manner with which Deano so confidently strode to the crease. Everything about his body language and what he was trying to do was just positive and aggressive.
He created that beautiful perception that he was in command.
The County International bat, the square cut finger gloves, the little towel tucked in at the hip, the sweat band, the zinc, and of course – Deano – the first bloke to wear sunglasses on a cricket field.
Everyone thought he was just being a show off, but there aren’t too many cricketers that go on to a field now not wearing sunglasses.
He pioneered the way and we were all the beneficiaries of it.
Then there was the innovation and how he taught so many people about what’s possible in limited overs cricket. That every ball comes with a high premium on it and is a gold nugget you cannot waste.
His effect on so many of us in our era was profound and long lasting.
It’s a legacy we now see.
All these innovations that are commonplace now in T20 cricket, Deano was introducing us all too that in the form of one day cricket.
The first idea that comes to mind about how to best honour Deano, is to simply name Cricket Australia’s one-day international player of the year award The Dean Jones Trophy.
But I’m sure there will be many, many ways in which his legacy will live on.
MORE ON DEAN JONES:
VALE DEAN JONES: WORLD ROCKED BY DEATH
HOW BRETT LEE BATTLED TO SAVE JONES
RIP DEANO: THE CRICKET MAVERICK WHO NEVER GREW UP
HOW DEANO WON OVER WORLD’S MOST FEARSOME BOWLER
- Joe Barton
West Indian icon Sir Curtly Ambrose has delivered a touching tribute to sparring partner Dean Jones, revealing his immense respect for the Australian great forged over fierce on-field battles.
Ambrose was saddened to hear news of Jones’ sudden death, at 59 from a heart attack on Thursday, and took the opportunity to recall the pair’s feisty rivalry. during the 80s and 90s.
There was no more famous run-in than during a World Series Cup match at the SCG in 1993 – when Jones boldly demanded the fearsome quick remove his while sweat band while bowling, as it was distracting him while batting.
Jones would quickly regret his decision, later admitting to thinking ‘what the hell have I done?’ as Ambrose tore the Australian lineup to shreds to the tune of 5-32 in a Windies victory.
“That tactic itself was a bit of a shock to me at first,” Ambrose told SEN Radio.
“Because like I’ve said before, I always wore a wristband and for Dean Jones to come out and ask the umpire to ask me to remove the wristband to me was a very strange request.
“I must admit, I was very reluctant to do it. I wasn’t going to. But my teammates convinced me it won’t make a difference to the way I bowled.
“But they were wrong. It made a difference. Because up to that point I was bowling within myself, (it was) a one-day game (and I was) trying to keep it nice and tight.
“But after the incident with Mr Jones, that really infuriated me. After that, I’m bowling much quicker. And of course we all know the end result. I didn’t get him out – but Australia lost.”
But it was that sort of confidence and bravado which earned Jones the respect of not just Ambrose but the entire West Indies team.
“You can look into a guy’s eyes, some players, and readily recognise that they’re not so comfortable and it’s only a matter of time before you get them out,” Ambrose added.
“With Dean Jones… he never showed that kind of emotion really. You can’t tell if he’s scared, nervous or anything.
“He’s just one of those guys who always believed in his ability and believed it didn’t matter what you throw at him, he would always get the better of you. That’s the kind of confidence he possessed.
“(The confidence) was very obvious. If you even look at him walking to the crease you could see that confidence in his stride, like he couldn’t wait to get out there because ‘I’m the man, I’m going to take care of this bowling’.”
Ambrose also recalled the time Jones scored a magnificent 216 against a terrifying West Indies attack on his first tour of Australia in 1988.
Against a pace quartet of Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Patrick Patterson, Jones posted his career-high Test score in stunning fashion.
“He really took us apart,” Ambrose said.
“I said to myself ‘next time around, when I run into him, I’m going to make sure it won’t be so easy for him’.
“But he played extremely well. We had our battles over the years. (He was a) very, very busy cricketer, especially in one-day cricket. He’s one of those guys who ran very well between the wicket, so he put you under pressure as a fielder all the time. Wonderful player. I’m just shattered at his passing.
“I want to say to Deano’s wife and children, my sincere condolences from myself and my family and all of Australia and the cricketing fraternity. We’ve lost a great player. I want to say to his family it’s a tough time but just remain strong and keep the faith.”
Hogg pays tribute to ‘one of the toughest I played with’
Dean Jones belongs in a bracket with his great mate Allan Border when it comes to the toughest cricketers I played with and against.
With “Deano” it was at times scary courage, such as requesting brooding West Indian paceman Curtly Ambrose remove his wrist bands at the SCG one night.
Name one other person in Australia who would have thought that was a good idea, and then having the actual guts to go through with it.
But that was Deano, a batsman of serious quality who I first bowled to at the Junction Oval in 1982/83, when I was playing under David Hookes for South Australia against Ray Bright’s Victorians.
When you bowl as many bouncers as I did, you could always sense the ones who didn’t like it. Dean Mervyn Jones wasn’t one of them. In fact he embraced it.
His first Test and one of my last was at Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, in 1984 against a West Indies attack that included Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall at their peak, plus a vicious Wayne Daniel.
Deano batted at seven and fought his way to 48, putting on 100 with Allan Border in a Test here Border famously scored 98no and 100no. It was that innings that suggested to Border he might have found a player to help Australia out of the mire we had fallen to.
After just one more Test on that Windies tour he got dropped back to Sheffield Shield ranks for two years where he was so prolific that he had to be picked again.
Madras (now Chennai) was the venue against India on September 18, 1986, where he produced what has gone down as one of the toughest innings from an Australia, 210 runs from 330 balls and a stint overnight in hospital on a drip.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised when Wasim Akram hit him on the elbow at Adelaide Oval four years later and Deano didn’t budge. I felt the pain, and that was sitting at home watching it on television.
But not Deano, who just stared back at Akram while chewing his gum before peeling off two centuries in the match.
Then there was the time he charged Malcolm Marshall in a one-day game. Watching it you actually wondered if he was OK in the mind, but it was just down to the fact he didn’t have the normal fears most batsmen experience.
For Dean, it was in his genes. As a teenager playing for Northcote in 1967 I had bowled to his old man Barney Jones, who was a district cricket legend over many seasons with his beloved Carlton. He have no quarter, just like his son.
For years, and really until Ricky Ponting came along, Deano was the best one day number three batsman in our history, a player who ran as well between the wickets as anyone in the history of the game.
That he didn’t play more than 52 Tests between 1984/1992 was a joke, and apparently came down to some selection rubbish about him not having a good record at the Gabba.
So he was relegated to 12th man after topping the averages in Sri Lanka, while Mark Waugh held his spot despite four consecutive ducks. It hurt him considerably, just as being overlooked for coaching roles in his country did.
He took his coaching talents off to Pakistan where he became very successful, combining coaching with commentary in India where he had developed into one of the most intuitive in the game.
As a person he was similar to the way he batted, straightforward, confident in his ability and views, sometimes polarising but always entertaining.
He played golf to a very high level and loved watching Carlton play football, sometimes wondering aloud if he would actually live to see another premiership. Tragically, that will not be the case.