The Melbourne Cricket Club and Carlton Cricket Club have honoured the memory of the late Dean Jones AM, with the Men’s Premier First XI teams to now play for the Dean Jones Cup.
In the week where Jones would’ve celebrated his 60th birthday, it was the MCC who claimed first ownership of the perpetual trophy, after defeating Carlton by two wickets at Albert Cricket Ground on Saturday.The perpetual trophy – unveiled on Saturday by Jones’ wife, Jane and daughters Phoebe and Augusta – remembers Jones and his contribution to both clubs.
Jones started his District and Premier Cricket career at Carlton before graduating to play for Victoria in First Class and List A cricket and the Australian team in the Test and ODI formats.
Jones’ career at the Melbourne Cricket Club began in 1985, and over the course of 15 years saw him play 67 First XI matches that included three premierships, plus five one-day competition matches that also produced a title. Jones also played part of a season to mentor the up-and-coming Second XI after retiring from First Class cricket.
MCC Chairman of Selectors for Premier Cricket, Michael Sholly said the Dean Jones Cup was the perfect recognition of Jones’ contribution to both Melbourne and Carlton.
“For us it was really a no-brainer. The idea spawned during the recent Boxing Day Test and with the Carlton Cricket Club taking the initiative, it’s another way for us to honour Jane, Phoebe and Augusta and pay tribute to Deano,” Mr Sholly said.
“Every game that you played, it turned from a cricket match to a major event. To have an international player come and play with you every week, it just lifted the standard of the game straight away.
“He enjoyed so much playing for the Melbourne Cricket Club.
“Clubs play a massive role not only for emerging talent, but for also when it goes the opposite way. There’s no doubt that both the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Carlton Cricket Club have a special place, not only for Dean, but with days like today, also for Jane, Phoebe and Augusta.”
MCC Men’s Premier First XI Coach, Ben Vague said his players were privileged to play a part in the history of the trophy.
“(Saturday meant) a significant amount to the playing group, obviously a lot of these players grew up watching Dean Jones and idolized Dean Jones, and they’re obviously very proud of him as an MCC player as well,” Vague said.
“Our message every week is to go out and play with the character and the competitiveness that Dean played and showed, and also the flair as well.
“We hope he’s looking down on us and that we’re doing him proud.”
Former Carlton President and current Committee member, John Douglas said Jones’ legacy continued to drive cultural and performance standards at the club.
“We play for a couple of trophies now and for this one, the whole club has really emphasized importance of Dean to our club and the extra importance of these games against the Melbourne Cricket Club,” Douglas said.
“Dean worked super hard. He was early to training, he was one of the last to leave the track and worked really hard on his fielding. They were all the things that led him on to being the player that he was and the career that he had.
“To unveil the Dean Jones Cup, it’s very important to remember what is we are playing for and to put the rivalries to one side for the moment. On the field we’ll both continue to play hard, but at the end of the day, we can get together no matter the result and remember the special player and man that he was.”
Earlier in the day, the Jones family also helped the Club unfurl their 2019/20 Premiership flag at the Albert Ground.
In a rain-affected match, the MCC restricted Carlton to 9/139 from their allotted 37 overs off the back of 4/38 from fast bowler, Jack Prestwidge. Calm innings from Jack Harper (31 runs), Campbell Kellaway and debutant, Kobe Herft (both 25 runs) guided the Demons to victory with seven balls to spare.