Dean Jones (cricketer)
Dean Mervyn Jones AM (born
March 24,
1961 in
Coburg,
Victoria) is a retired
Australian
cricketer, and current coach. He worked as a commentator for Ten Sports but his contract was terminated in August 2006.
"Deano" began his first class career in the 1981-82 season with
Victoria in the
Sheffield Shield. He made his
Test debut for
Australia in the West Indies in 1984.
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
Chennai (Madras) in 1986. Suffering from dehydration in the oppresively 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 couldn't handle the conditions, "then let's get a tough Queenslander" (
Greg Ritchie was the next man) in to bat. This comment spurred Jones to score 210.
Jones was one of Australia's most successful batsmen in
one-day international matches. In 164 matches, he scored 6,068 runs, including seven centuries and 46 half centuries, at an average of 44.61. He played in the 1987
World Cup winning team, and was noted for his electric running between the wickets, outstanding out-fielding and aggressive batting especially against
fast bowlers. With his flamboyant style of play he became a crowd favourite.
Jones also played for
Durham and
Derbyshire in the English
County Championship. No stranger to controversy, he left Derbyshire in mid-season and also had run-ins with authority and team mates 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.
Jones is now a coach and a commentator. He is well-known for his condemnation of the bowling action of the
Sri Lankan off-spinner
Muttiah Muralitharan.
He is 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".
Jones' commentating contract with Ten Sports was terminated after referring to
South African player
Hashim Amla as a '
terrorist' on
7 August 2006. When Amla, who is a devout
Muslim, took a catch, Jones was heard to say
"the terrorist has got another wicket". Jones made the comment during a commercial break, but the comment went to air live in South Africa as its broadcast had not been interrupted. He has since apologised to all concerned. The incident appears is likely to severely damage Jones' reputation and post-playing career.
[1] |
Dean Jones' career performance graph. |
