Jane Jones, wife of late former Australian cricketer Dean Jones opened up about the devastation brought by her husband’s death and being touched by the outpour of the response from around the world.
Married for 34 years, Jones broke her silence with a statement to The Sunday Age, Australia, after the death of 59-year old in Mumbai on Thursday due to a cardiac arrest.
“My girls and I are devastated and saddened beyond belief to hear of Dean’s death in India. 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.”
Jones was on commentating duty for the Indian Premier League with the host broadcaster ‘Star Sports’, in India. He was present in the studio till Wednesday night doing what he does best. Jane also thanked former fast bowler Brett Lee, who tried giving a CPR to Jones in his last moments.
“We want to especially thank and acknowledge Brett Lee’s tireless efforts to keep Dean alive," Jane said.
The plans are in motion by the Australian High Commission in India, who is assisting the family in having Jones' body returned to Melbourne soon.
"At this moment, we would sincerely ask the cricketing world to respect the privacy of our family. Details of Dean’s memorial celebration will be released in due course, so everyone has the chance to rightly commemorate his wonderful legacy and bid farewell," Jane said.
A major commemoration ceremony is also being planned by Cricket Australia to pay tributes to the legend, who has played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia averaging 46.55 and 44.61, respectively.
Tributes and condolences started pouring in from all corners of the world after Jones’ passing. Star Sports, also paid a tribute to their ‘Prof. Deano’ in their own style with his co-panelists and friends Brett Lee and Scott Styris also remembered him during the pre-match show on Thursday.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)