Grew up watching Dean Jones, playing against him was truly special, states Sachin Tendulkar

The sad and unfortunate demise of Dean Jones due to cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hotel on Thursday while being a part of host broadcaster's commentary panel for the 2020 IPL has left everyone shocked. The former Australia batsman, who played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs averaged 46.55and 44.62 respectively with 18 international tons to his name. He is believed to have redefined the way ODI cricket was played in terms of approaching batting with his innovative strokeplay and brilliant running between the wickets. 

"It's a better pill to swallow. Whatever you say, it is a massive tragedy. My heart goes out to his friends and family. Just think of it, he was only 59 years old. He may have had so much to contribute. I pray for his departed soul," Tendulkar told PTI.

"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.

"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 were 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."