ON THIS DAY
Follow UsAmerican actor John Wayne described courage in the truest sense. He would say, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway”. Late Australian cricketer Dean Jones had pretty much lived the experience.
It was like a second coming for the Victorian, following which he never had to look back. Having debuted in the longest format in 1984, Jones could muster just 65 runs in four innings and was understandably dropped soon after. His next chance in the Test team came two years later, and he wasn’t going to let it go.
Cricket is a funny game. There are rules to stop the proceedings at the slightest hint of a drizzle, but not when it’s 42 degrees with humidity hovering around 80 percent. When Australia started their India tour in 1986 with the first Test, the playing conditions were far from optimal due to their unfamiliarity with Indian weather.
However, conditions were the least of Jones’ worries initially. Two days before the match, the management was still procrastinating whether to give Jones or his then-roommate Mike Veletta a go before skipper Allan Border chose to include the former in the playing eleven.
“I was very nervous,” Jones had recounted during an interview in 2013. “We put so much pressure on players and say you haven't made it unless you've made a hundred for Australia.”
The pressure got to the 23-year-old lad, who didn’t drink water overnight. While the players knew that the temperature would be hot, no one expected to enter a furnace that was MA Chidambaram Stadium for those five days.
“I didn't drink water overnight. One hour into day two, I knew I was in trouble. I didn't drink anything apart from a cup of tea or coffee. We didn't know anything about dehydration and rehydration back then.”
Fortunately, Chepauk Stadium had a flat wicket for the game that had batsmen one less thing to worry about. Apart from Jones’ double century, the track had also seen David Boon, Allan Border and Kapil Dev scoring tons over the five days. Over the years, few cricketers have used that as an excuse to withdraw credit from Jones.
Greg Matthews, who had taken 10 wickets for Australia during that Test, opines that Jones’ achievement was nothing special. "He got runs on an absolute road. Please, get over it," the former Aussie bowler had said during an interview with Cricket.com.au.
"He was 23-years-old. He batted on a road. 1488 runs were scored for the loss of 32 wickets. The guy [Jones] was 23, in his prime, fit as a mallee bull. If you are not fit enough to walk out there and play, don't come whingeing to me.”
While Matthews did bowl more than 68 overs across two innings during that Test and had a perfect idea about the pitch, he doesn’t factor in the patience, focus, tenacity and grit needed to bat relentlessly in that heat.
Jones would come in at number 3 on Day 1 after Geoff Marsh would get out and remain unbeaten on 56 after forging a 158-run stand with Boon. He would hold his own alongside nightwatchman Ray Bright before making another 178-run partnership alongside captain Border on Day 2, September 19, 1986, and finally getting dismissed.
Jones’ 210-run knock had 27 boundaries and two sixes, meaning he had to tally 90 runs in singles and doubles in the scorching heat. He did all this while facing 330 balls for over 502 minutes. The match is famously known for Jones' regular breaks to vomit amidst involuntary urination during his innings.
Years down the line since that historic knock, Jones had revealed that he didn’t remember anything about that innings since he reached 120 runs. When he would return to the dressing room during Tea, he didn’t even want to go back to the ground.
“I didn't want to come out after tea. I was 202, and I was just gone. Simmo and AB just pushed me out and said, "You're batting.”
Jones would score just eight more runs after that before getting out and was rushed to the hospital to be put on a saline drip.
However, Jones’ knock wasn’t the only highlight of that epic match-up. India would tie the score while chasing 347 in the final innings before getting bowled out. It was only the second time in Test history that the match had ended in a draw with the scores tied, which created confusion.
Eventually, the match was deemed a draw as both teams scored the same number of runs over five days.
