Loyal, with a heart of gold: Boonie’s tribute to his great mate Dean Jones

Dean Jones and David Boon helped turn Australia back into a cricketing powerhouse, and the duo became great mates. Read Boonie’s heartfelt tribute to his old friend after Jones’ sudden passing >>

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WHILE Australia is mourning Dean Jones the cricketer, his great mate David Boon was mourning Dean Jones the man.

Jones, who passed away on Thursday in India from a cardiac arrest aged 59, and Boon were key pillars in returning Australia to a cricketing powerhouse in the last 1980s and 1990s.

Boon said he was shattered when the news came through of Jones’s passing.

The pair were still in regular contact with Boon’s role as a match referee and Jones as a commentator.

“We were close and I had only spoken to him a couple of days before,” Boon, 59, told the Mercury.

“He spoke to me regularly about playing conditions and laws, especially when he’s commentating so he could try and get everything right.

“But we chatted regularly and obviously in our travels and we caught up a bit.

“We were very good mates and it was very, very sad and unexpected.”

The David Boon charity walk of hope. Dean Jones and Matthew Richardson give David Boon a hand at the start of his walk.

The duo shared the change rooms on iconic tours such as the surprise 1987 World Cup win in India, Australia regaining the Ashes in England in 1989 and the famous tied Test in Madras (now Chennai) in 1986.

Jones’s first innings in that tied Test is stuff of legends – making 210 while battling illness and dehydration in oppressive conditions – but what has been forgotten is that he spent a large chunk of that knock batting with is little mate from Launceston who scored 122 in a 158-run second-wicket stand.

“I know how knackered I was,” Boon said.

“I was fortunate enough to bat with him for quite a while, not only that time but numerous other times.

The Australian cricket team celebrate their win against England in the First Test in the Ashes series at Headingley, 13th June 1989. Tasmanian batsman David Boon is seated third from left. (Photo by Adrian Murrell/Getty Images)

“But it was a phenomenal physical feat to continue to do what he did. About the only words we got out of him was ‘I’m not going to give up.’

“The guys would shower him, dress him, and shove him back out the door and off he went.”

Boon said the physical effects of that innings were still with Jones.

“It was one of those things that stayed with him for a hell of a long time.

“When he got dehydrated you could easily tell, which was a side effect of what happened to him in Madras, we’d say, ‘come on mate in with the water, let’s go.’

“It was a great innings and a wonderful feat that has been and should be continued to be recognised as is his career as a cricketer.”

But it was in coloured clothes that most will remember Jones for.

He revolutionised 50-over cricket with his power and athleticism in the outfield and running between the wickets – becoming the pin-up boy of the shortened format during the 80s.

Jones would terrorise the outfielders with his speed, turning ones into twos, but he would not only scare the life out of the opposition.

“For us at the other end who weren’t as quick as him we were scared to death we wouldn’t be able to keep up with him,” he said.

AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 1: Dean Jones of Australia bats during a One Day International match on February 1, 1990 in Australia. (Photo by Getty Images)

“He did a hell of a lot for the game, he continued to do so over the years in various roles and he had a great influence on Australian cricket from the 1987 World Cup and other fixtures and the resurgence of Australian cricket during the late 80s and early 90s.”

Jones was well-known for the confidence in his own ability, but Boon said for those who knew him, there was so much more to him than a strut and a pair of wrap around sunglasses.

“For me personally, he was a great mate who had a heart of gold,” he said.

“Underneath all that bravado, he was a great loyal friend and someone not only all his mates, but cricket in general will miss.

“It is just far too early for anybody to go, let alone someone close.

“We are thinking about him now more as a man than as a cricketer.”