I grew up watching Dean Jones, playing against him was truly special: Sachin Tendulkar

I grew up watching Dean Jones, playing against him was truly special: Sachin Tendulkar
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Sachin Tendulkar (Left) and Dean Jones

The sudden demise of former Australian cricketer Dean Jones due to a cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Thursday left the entire world in shock. He was a part of host broadcaster’s commentary panel for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to the former Australian cricketer-turned-commentator, saying that the Australian side were the toughest opponents when Jones was part of the team.

“While I was growing up, I had seen Dean Jones bat on a number of occasions, but when I went to Australia in 1991, getting a chance to play against someone whom you kind of grew up watching, I remember there were a number of players in their team like Allan Border, David Boon, Geoff Marsh, Bruce Reid, (Craig) McDermott. As a 13-year-old, 14-year-old kid, I had watched all these bowlers, I had watched all of them, and then I was playing against them, the likes of Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, so Dean Jones was without any doubt one of those guys I grew up watching, then to actually be playing against him was truly special.“

“Australian team, I have gone on record saying that they have always been one of the toughest sides and possibly in the 90s if I have to say then the Australian team was the toughest side in cricket and he (Jones) was part of it,” Tendulkar told TimesofIndia.com.

‘Jones was extremely aggressive and fearless,’ says Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar AFP
Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar admired Jones fearlessness while on the cricket field, saying that his body language “conveyed a lot of things to the opposition”.

“It always appeared to me that Dean Jones was fearless, he was out there to express himself, he played some incredible knocks in his career and not just in ODI cricket but also in Test cricket, in whichever format he played. In those days there was only Test cricket and ODIs, but he was extremely aggressive and fearless and his body language conveyed a lot of things to the opposition. I admired him for that, ” Tendulkar said.

“Even when it came to fielding, I still remember some incredible catches in the slip cordon that he has taken. If I am not mistaken, he took a blinder in Perth against us to dismiss Sanjay Manjrekar (off Merv Hughes), Dean Jones was literally up in the air just like Jonty Rhodes, Jones was literally like that in the slip cordon taking that brilliant catch,” he recalled.

Tendulkar on Thursday had taken to Twitter and expressed his grief on the demise of veteran cricketer.

“Absolutely heartbreaking news about Dean Jones passing away.
A wonderful soul taken away too soon. Had the opportunity to play against him during my first tour of Australia.
May his soul rest in peace and my condolences to his loved ones,” he tweeted.

Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989 after five years when Dean Jones first played an international match for Australia.

Jones was the part of 1987 World Cup-winning Australian squad and also the 1989 Ashes-winning team. In 52 Test matches, he scored 3631 runs with 11 centuries. In 164 ODIs, he made 6068 runs with seven tons.

Also read: RIP Professor Dean Jones – a true legend of the gentleman’s game