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Sir Richard Hadlee and Dean Jones spent the last day of Christmas north of Melbourne together, the jokes flowed, each still referring to the other as their cricket “bunny”.
Tasmania’s great cricket rivals kept in touch; Jones regularly saw Hadlee in recent years as she underwent surgery and treatment for cancer.
So when Hadlee woke up in Christchurch on Friday morning for her regular round of golf, and was greeted by the news of Jones’ sudden death in India, at age 59, he was stunned.
Breakfast
Australian cricketer Dean Jones, 59, suffered a heart attack in Mumbai, where he worked as a commentator.
“Totally shocked and saddened by the whole thing. I didn’t know until 7am this morning when my wife told me. Unbelievable, 59 and missing, plain and simple, it’s so tragic, ”Hadlee told Stuff on Friday.
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Jones suffered a heart attack in Mumbai on Thursday, where he was part of a Star Sports study panel for the Indian Premier League. He is survived by his wife Jane and daughters Isabella and Phoebe.
New Zealand’s greatest cricketer and cheeky Australian hitter first became entangled in the late 1980s and, after Hadlee’s retirement in 1990, formed a friendship, participated in conferences, and helped promote the World Cup of Cricket 2015.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
The great Indian Sunil Gavaskar with the Cricket World Cup in 2014, flanked by Dean Jones and Sir Richard Hadlee.
In the 1987 test series in Australia, Hadlee fired Jones for 2, 0 and 4 in the first innings in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.
But Jones was given verbal ammunition for years to come when he caught Hadlee trapped and thrown with her gentle offspring, her only terrain in a 52-test run in which she scored 3,631 runs over an average of 46 and 11 centuries.
“He loved telling the world about it, because I took it out six times,” Hadlee said.
“I mastered him in that series of tests, but in one-day cricket I hardly ever got him out … There was mutual respect between us. Yes, we were with each other when we played, but off the field, a great friendship ”.
Hadlee and his wife Di had Christmas lunch at Jones ‘property in Romsey on the eve of the Black Caps’ appearance at the Boxing Day event at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
QUENTIN JONES / Getty Images
Dean Jones on track to score his first Test Century at home against England in Ashes’ fifth Test at the SCG in 1986.
A proud Victorian, Jones impressed Hadlee by displaying her lawn comprised of MCG’s sacred lawn. “His beloved MCG was part of his backyard. That sums up Deano, a little quirky, and he loved cutting it up and keeping it in the right condition.
Her Christmas gift for Jones summed up their friendship, Hadlee said: a cushion cover with a giant rabbit and a message: ‘To Deano, one of the great Australian hitters. Howzat, oars 431 [test wickets].
Jones presented the MCG press box the next day with feigned anguish, saying, “So I had to hear about all the times he pulled me out.”
But in Australian gold in cricket over 50, Jones was nearly unstoppable. In nine one-day internationals against teams from New Zealand, including Hadlee, Jones scored 603 runs with an average of 100.5. Hadlee fired him only three times at ODI.
New Zealand cricket watchers will remember it vividly: Jones strutting toward the center, chewing gum, wrapped in zinc cream, and causing bowlers endless headaches as he scampered through the wickets and charged towards them.
Jason Oxenham / Getty Images
Australian hitter Dean Jones was a beloved figure on and off the field, even in New Zealand.
“He had a presence. She was always looking to get on top of the pitcher quickly, get that first single, ”Hadlee said.
“He also had a power play and he liked to get out of his fold and come to you all the time. As a bowler, you think ‘I’m going to bounce you’ but that’s what he wanted because he was a very good hooker on the ball. It was a great contest.
“Deano set the standard for future players in that era on how to run between terrains in a day’s game. That is one of the great legacies he left behind. He just had a great love for the game as a player, coach, and commentator. His life was cricket and we will sadly miss him. “
In 164 ODI, Jones scored 6,068 runs at 44.61.
Jones called Hadlee “one of the greats,” and in an interview with former teammate Damien Fleming for cricket.com.au he spoke of her last joust at Auckland’s Eden Park in 1990.
It was Hadlee’s last ODI in New Zealand, and she scored 79 of the hosts’ measly 162. Then Jones killed bowlers everywhere, hitting five sixes on his 102 unbeaten against 91 balls in a comfortable Aussie victory.
Jones told Fleming: “People were running on the ground and I followed the race to follow. [Hadlee] And I sled it, and I went into the dressing room The room was empty.
“And I looked at him and he had a beer and said ‘Deano, you want a beer,’ and I said ‘congratulations, great running mate, well done.’ And I sat there with my pads on for another hour and a half talking about the good times. “
For Hadlee there were plenty of good times to discuss when they caught up. She said Jones and Dennis Lillee were two of her longtime Australian friends, forged in the trans-Tasman cricket battle.
“We’ve been in a relationship for almost 35 years and all of a sudden it’s gone … off the field, you develop these great friends and acquaintances and you feel like you can call or text anytime and you’ll get an answer. That, for me, is a full life. “
