Here's What Dean Jones' International Career Led To An Abrupt End
Published - 30 Jun 2020, 06:24 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:31 AM
Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones has shed light on what caused him to announce his international retirement abruptly. In a glorious 10-year career between 1984-1994, Dean Jones played more than 200 games across Tests and ODIs. He mustered 3631 Test runs in 52 matches at 46.55 and 6088 ODI runs in 164 fixtures at 44.61.
Dean Jones played a significant role in Australia’s victory in the 1987 World Cup and 1989 Ashes. In the final of the World Cup, the Victorian was the second-highest run-scorer for Australia and amassed 314 runs in eight matches at 44.86 for the tournament. As far as the Ashes victory of 1989 is concerned, Jones accumulated 566 runs at 70.75 as the tourists won the six-match series comprehensively by 4-0.
At 33, the cricketer-turned-commentator travelled with the Australian squad for the eight-match ODI series in South Africa against the Proteas in 1994. With the hosts leading the series by 4-3 walking into the last match, Australia needed to win the final ODI to square it off. But after seven fixtures and 151 runs, Jones faced the axe as Mark Taylor and David Boon picked themselves.
“I was in South Africa, they picked me to go over there and then they knocked off me from the one-day team. It was 3-3 (4-3), we were playing the last game, everything was on the line, and Mark Taylor and David Boon picked themselves before me,” Jones stated in the show Lessons with Greats hosted by Shane Watson.
Well, that’s it, I’m done: Dean Jones
On realizing that he was not given the nod, the 59-year old told them he is calling off his international career after the Taylor and Boon thought they are better One-day players. The duo instead told Dean Jones to visit Sharjah to play the 50-over games; however, he refused. And the right-handed batsman walked away.
Nevertheless, Dean Jones continued to play first-class cricket till the 1997/98 season. The Victorian’s first-class statistics were even impressive, having mustered 19188 runs in 245 fixtures at 51.85 alongside 55 centuries. In List A cricket, Dean Jones amassed 10936 in 285 games at 46.93 with 19 tons.
“I said, ‘Are you trying to tell me that you’re a better player than me, in one-day cricket? Really? Well, that’s it, I’m done.’ And I retired straightaway. That was it. They said, ‘No, you got to go to Sharjah to play all these one-day series.’ I’m going no, I went on, (and) that was it. No thank you, no nothing. That was it,” the 59-year-old added.
