Dean Jones, former Australia cricketer, coach and commentator, dies of heart attack

Australia’s veteran Dean Jones, who was one of the greatest batsmen of ODI cricket, passed away due to a heart attack in Mumbai on Thursday (24 September). Jones was part of the Star Sports commentary team for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was in Mumbai. He was 59 years old. Jones was in a biologically safe environment in a city hotel.

“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,” Star Sports said a press release.

“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,” the release added.

“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 thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends,” the broadcasters said.

Jones has scored 3631 runs at an average of 46.55 in 52 Test matches. He also represented Australia in a total of 164 ODIs and scored 6008 runs at an average of 44.61. He was part of the 1987 World Cup-winning Australian team.

After retiring as a player, Jones played the role of a cricket expert on various channels, especially in South Asia and he was very popular in India and Pakistan. An Indian news channel named him ‘Professor Dino’ which was associated with his name and his twitter handle is by that name.

However, he also faced trolling several times due to his attitude. He once raised controversy during a live commentary calling South African veteran Hashim Amla a ‘terrorist’. He said this jokingly but due to racist remarks, the broadcaster removed him from commentary responsibility.