‘We are overwhelmed by the scale of the response’: Dean Jones’ wife opens up on husband’s death

Former Australia cricketer and renowned commentator Dean Jones’ death shocked the cricketing world. 59-year-old Jones passed away on Thursday following a cardiac arrest in Mumbai. He was in India as part of the commentary team working on the Indian Premier League with host broadcaster Star Sports.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing away of Mr. Dean Mervyn Jones AM. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest. We express our deep condolences to his family and stand ready to support them in this difficult time. We are in touch with the Australian High Commission to make the necessary arrangements,” Star India said in a release.

A batsman during his playing days, Jones played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia between 1984 and 1994 before venturing into commentary. Jones was part of the Australian team that won the 1987 World Cup, playing a starring role in the campaign. Jones was Australia’s third-highest run-getter in the tournament, scoring 314 runs in 8 matches.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters. Recently his wife Jane Jones gave a tribute to Dean while also acknowledging the efforts put in by Brett Lee to revive the deceased cricketer.

“My girls and I are devastated and saddened beyond belief to hear of Dean’s death in India,” Jane told The Age.

“My beautiful husband, the love of my life has lived his life with every bit of energy at his disposal, and he leaves an enormous gap in our lives which can never be filled.

“He leaves us with so many wonderful memories that will last forever. At this challenging time, when our grief is so raw, we have drawn much consolation from the many messages of goodwill and support from so many people around the world.

“Given Dean’s special love for the sub-continent, it was especially touching to hear so broadly from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. We are overwhelmed by the scale of the response to the news of his death and we will forever be grateful for that.”

“We want to especially thank and acknowledge Brett Lee’s tireless efforts to keep Dean alive,” Jane said.

Jones made his debut for Australia in a Test match in the West Indies in 1984. He scored almost 9500 international runs. He retired from international cricket with an average of 46.55 in Test cricket and 44.61 in ODIs.