Dean Jones given final lap of Melbourne Cricket Ground to Elton John’s tunes
Dean Jones, the former Australian batsman who passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest on September 24, was given a quiet farewell by family members at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Over the past weekend, a service was dedicated to the 59-year-old’s memory on the MCG’s turf. Due to Victoria’s current COVID-19 restrictions, it was limited to ten of Jones’ family members including wife Jane and daughters Phoebe and Augusta.
An Australian flag and a floral 324 arrangement — showcasing Jones’ Australian Test cap number — adorned his coffin as a hearse took him on one last lap of the MCG.
“We have been deeply moved by the outpouring of love for Dean over the last week and can’t thank everyone enough for their support and for sharing their memories with us,” said Dean’s wife Jane.
“It has been an awful time to navigate as a family, but I could not have thought of a more fitting place to say goodbye to my husband than under the lights of his beloved MCG. What better way to honour him than with the music of his friends Elton John and INXS echoing throughout the empty stadium.”
“We will forever miss Dean’s energy, his zest for life, passion for cricket and his love for us as a family,” she concluded.
Jones had played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia before becoming a popular commentator and a coach. Before his demise, he had been based at a Mumbai hotel and was commentating on the IPL for Star Sports.
An icon of white-ball cricket in the 1980s, Jones was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame housed in the Australian Sports Museum at the MCG in 2019.
