Jones returns to QEO

Updated November 7 2012 - 1:59am, first published February 18 2009 - 10:37am
England spinner Phil Tufnell unsuccessfully appeals for the wicket of Dean Jones at the QEO in 1995.
England spinner Phil Tufnell unsuccessfully appeals for the wicket of Dean Jones at the QEO in 1995.

WHEN Dean Jones steps out on to the Queen Elizabeth Oval this Saturday night, it won’t be the first time he has set foot on Bendigo’s premier sporting ground for a game of cricket.Jones, the former Australian cricketer, will play for the Emu Valley Cricket Association against the Bendigo District Cricket Association in Saturday night’s Pride of Bendigo Challenge Twenty20 match to raise money for Bendigo’s bushfire victims.Fourteen years ago, Jones captained Victoria in a four-day game against England at the QEO in January, 1995.The match fizzled out to a draw, with Jones later slamming England after it failed to have a decent go at chasing 252 to win off a minimum of 55 overs after lunch on the final day.Instead, England reached 1-139, with Jones saying after the game: “They batted well at the start and needed 180-odd off about 30 overs and at no stage did they go for it, and that disappoints me.”Jones made scores of 4 and 31 in the match, which he yesterday told The Advertiser he had no recollections of.“Did we win the game?,” he said.Jones had no hesitations in playing in this Saturday night’s bushfire game when approached last week by Victorian cricketer Brad Hodge, who organisers had initially tried to secure.“Hodgey was supposed to play in the match, but Cricket Victoria knocked him back for whatever reason,” Jones said.“So Hodgey asked me to do it because I live up that way and I’m more than happy to help Hodgey out.”Jones, who played 52 Test and 164 one-day matches for Australia between 1984 and 1994, lives in Romsey, which is close to areas such as Wandong that have been ravaged by the recent bushfires.“Wandong is only 15 minutes away from Romsey, so it’s certainly no hassle to do anything we can to help,” the 47-year-old said.As part of his trip to Bendigo, Jones will bring with him a number of items to be auctioned to raise money for the bushfire appeal, including bats used by Mike Hussey and the recently-retired Matthew Hayden.“These are bats that you can’t buy off a shelf out of a store,” Jones said.“These are properly made professional bats for an Australian player.”Jones, who spent part of January playing Beach Cricket for Australia on the Gold Coast, has been supplied with a new kit for the match by Kookaburra.“I had a look in the garage the other day to see what cricket equipment I had - all I had was a protector and my helmet, they are the only things I have left,” he said.“So I had to ring up Kookaburra to help me out and they have jumped on board.”As for how he expects to perform with the bat this Saturday night, Jones, who was the 1990 Wisden Cricketer of the Year, said: “Anyone that bowls at over 35kmh is going to worry me, so we will see what happens.“Surely, I can’t be given out lbw; I will be stipulating that to the umpires before the game, but it should be some good fun.”Australian Idol winner Kate DeAraugo will sing the national anthem before the match, which will start at 7.30pm.Entry will cost $5, with children under-14 free.

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