Cricket Australia has minted the Dean Jones Trophy, renaming its men’s domestic one-day competition in honour of the game-changing batter.
Jones scored 6068 runs at an average of 44.61 in 164 ODIs for Australia, while he tallied 2122 runs at 50.52 in 55 games for Victoria.
But those numbers fail to encapsulate one of cricket’s great entertainers, who was renowned for being a fluent run-scorer and his aggression while running between the wickets.
Jones died in 2020, having suffered a stroke in India at age 59.
Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan and Jones were shortlisted for the honour after a fan vote, with the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame Committee announcing its decision on Friday morning.
‘On behalf of the Jones family we are very grateful for this recognition of our dad, who we miss dearly,’ Dean Jones’ daughter Phoebe said.
Pictured right to left: Dean Jones’s daughters Phoebe and Augusta with their mother Jane at the MCG for the announcement that Australia’s men’s domestic one-day competition has been renamed to honour the cricketing great
Jones (pictured celebrating Christmas with his daughters in 2019) is fondly remembered for his toughness and aggression on the field
‘It makes it extra special knowing its fan-voted and will be unveiled today at what he nicknamed ‘his office’ at the MCG.
‘Dad would be extremely proud to receive this acknowledgement. He loved representing Victoria in this competition and winning the 50-over World Cup for Australia in 1987 was what he described as the greatest cricketing day of his life.’
Phoebe was joined by her sister Augusta and their mother Jane for the announcement at the MCG.
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley was thrilled the trophy was being renamed in honour of ‘an icon of the game and pioneer in one-day cricket, who entertained fans around the world’.
‘He was a World Cup winner, an innovator and possessed one of the best records in 50-over cricket for the era that he played,’ Hockley said.
Jones was working as a commentator in Mumbai when tragedy struck on September 24, 2020.
He collapsed in the lobby of his hotel despite the frantic efforts of his fellow Aussie ex-cricket star, Brett Lee, who tried to save his life by performing CPR.
A classy right-handed batsman, Jones played in an era of great change in Australian cricket.
He played his first of 52 Tests against the mighty West Indies at Port of Spain in 1982 with his most famous innings his double century in the tied Madras Test in 1986.
‘Deano’ was ahead of his time when it came to the way one-day internationals are played
Jones is pictured with another Aussie great who died far too soon, Shane Warne
There, he spent more than eight hours at the crease in 42C heat and severe humidity for his 210.
It earned him not only a place in Australian cricket folklore, but left him on a drip in hospital after losing eight kilos and any memory of the second half of his innings.
For all his toughness shown in that knock, Jones led the way with his aggression in the white-ball game during an era where teams were still cautious with their ODI batting.
His 6068 runs in the format was the second highest of all-time when he played his last match in 1994, while his strike-rate of 72.56 was also brisk for that era.
He played with flamboyance, not afraid to walk down the pitch to bowlers, attacked when running between the wickets and saved runs in the field.
Meanwhile, the man of the match in the final will now be awarded the Michael Bevan Medal to honour the former Aussie star, who was regarded as the game’s best one-day batter at the peak of his career.
This season’s final will be staged on March 1.
