Cricket: Sir Richard Hadlee details the strong bond he shared with the late Australian cricketer Dean Jones

Sir Richard Hadlee has expressed surprise at the sudden passing of former Australian cricketer Dean Jones, whom he described as a good friend.

Jones died suddenly at the age of 59 in Mumbai last night from a suspected heart attack. He was working in India as a commentator for the Indian Premier League.

Jones played for Australia from 1984 to 1994, overlapping for a six-year stint with Sir Richard, who retired from international cricket in 1990.

The former Black Cap bowler says the news caught him off guard.

“At 59 I mean he’s too young,” Hadlee said. “As a player and competitor in our 80s days, yes we were with each other, no question about that.

“We had some good contests on the field, but off the field we had mutual respect and for more than 30 years we developed a wonderful friendship, we did many concerts together, we took the mickey out of each other. [We] actually had Christmas Day with him last Christmas at his house in Romsey.

“That’s the kind of guy he was, he just had a lot of respect for the other players, he hired him. He just loved cricket, not just as a player, but as a commentator, as a coach.

“At his house, he has part of the MCG playing in the outfield as part of his lawn, so that shows you how much he loves cricket.

Jones played for Australia in 52 events and 164 one-day internationals. He was known as a pioneering hitter in the game for 50 years, as well as having impressive speed and fielding qualities, something Hadlee noticed.

“He was a great batsman in test cricket and a wonderful one-day player, and I think he set the benchmark in one-day cricket actually, more because of his run between the grounds. He was so fast, he stole a lot of runs. and there was always a smile on his face when he reached the other end.

“In our engagements we didn’t say much of anything; I don’t remember ever having a verbal tumult or anything like that. There was always a look, a nod, a wink, a look and that is intimidation in itself.

“He said, ‘If you had thrown me bowling, you wouldn’t have got 400 proving grounds.’