3 days Ago By Ben Sutton
Australian cricket icon Dean Jones’ name will live on forever in domestic competition, with the one-day cup to carry his name. Cricket Australia officially confirmed the champions of the tournament will receive the Dean Jones Trophy following the final on March 1. The decision comes after a fan vote of more than 10,000 people.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Jones, who died of a heart attack in India two years ago , was one of Australia’s greatest ODI players with over 6000 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. He was also a member of the 1987 World Cup-winning team and captained Victoria to the men’s domestic title in 1994/95 among a host of other accolades. 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.
The governing body also announced the player of the final will receive the Michael Bevan Medal. Jones’ daughter Phoebe said her family was very appreciative of the gesture. “On behalf of the Jones family we are very grateful for this recognition of our Dad, who we miss dearly,” she said.
“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.
“We’d like to thank Cricket Australia, Cricket Victoria, the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame Committee and the fans for putting Dad forward to be selected for this honour.” 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.
- With AAP.
