Dean Jones, the legendary Australian cricketer and commentator, died of cardiac arrest at a hotel in Mumbai on Thursday. 59 years old Dean was associated with Star Sports’ commentary team for the current season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was in Mumbai. The broadcaster has confirmed this.
Due to the coronavirus, the current season of the IPL is being played outside the country in the United Arab Emirates.
After retirement, Dean became a successful commentator. This time he was doing commentary from Mumbai in the IPL. Jones was part of the IPL commentary panel with Brett Lee, Brian Lara, Graeme Swann and Scott Styris.
Yesterday, before the sixth match IPL between RCB and KXIP cricket fans had received this sad news.
Star Sports said, “With great sadness, we are sharing the news of the death of Dean Mervyn Jones. He died of a heart attack. We express our condolences to his family and are ready to support them in this difficult time. We are in contact with the Australian High Commission to make the necessary arrangements.”
Broadcaster further said, “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 condolences and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Cricket career
Former Australia veteran middle-order batsman Dean Jones played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs in his International cricket career. He scored an average of 46.55 in Tests, while in ODIs he batted at an average of 44.61. He scored 11 centuries in Tests. Jones has scored 6063 runs in 164 ODIs. It also includes 7 Century and 46 Half Century. He gained considerable fame after his Indian tour in 1986–87. In the first Test match with India in Chennai, he fainted due to heat, after which he had to go to the hospital. But he did not give up and he played the match after coming from the hospital. He scored 210 runs in that match. Dean Jones was part of the team that won Australia’s first World Cup. In the final of the 1987 World Cup, he contributed 33 runs while batting at number 3. Australia won this match by 7 runs.