When it comes to renaming Australia’s domestic one-day competition after a player, there are many options but one stands above the rest.
After churning through a dozen name changes with various sponsors over the past 50-plus years, Cricket Australia is in the process of coming up with a new title for the men’s trophy.
In what sounds more like a publicity stunt for a dying competition than a genuine attempt to revive the one-day format at state level, CA has opened a poll to get the fans’ opinion on which player should have the cup named in their honour.
The three-pronged criteria for the player who gets the nod is that they must have had:
- An elite record in the domestic men’s One-Day Cup
- Been a top ODI player for Australia
- Had a major impact on the game
There were nine candidates listed on the CA website:
Michael Bevan
Matthew Hayden
James Hopes
Brad Hodge
Dean Jones
Darren Lehmann
Dennis Lillee
Andrew Symonds
Steve Waugh
All great players but when it comes to the years when this competition was in its heyday, Jones should be a clear winner with Bevan a distant second.
Dean Jones was one-day cricket in Australia.
In the late 1980s and early ‘90s when he was at his peak, Jones was the epitome of why fans flocked to the ODI arena in huge numbers.
He was all entertainment. There was a sparkle in his eye when he came to the crease and fans, at the ground or in their loungeroom, would sit up and take notice when he was in full flight.
Jones made the first drop spot his own after playing a key role in the unexpected 1987 World Cup win in India.
(Photo by Getty Images)
The Victorian dynamo tallied 6068 runs in his 164 ODIs for Australia at 44.61 with seven tons and 46 half-centuries.
At the height of his powers, he averaged more than 50 in three straight calendar years, peaking at 69.05 in 1990 when he smashed four tons, including his iconic 145 against England at the Gabba.
He was ranked the No.1 batter in ODI cricket at the time as he reached his career-best rating of 918, a mark that has only been bettered by a few handy batters by the names of David Gower (919 in 1983), Greg Chappell (921 in 1981), Zaheer Abbas (931 in 1983) and the Master Blaster himself, Sir Vivian Richards (935 in 1985).
Back when the domestic one-day comp received wall to wall coverage on free-to-air TV, Jones’ magnetism attracted decent crowds to the cavernous MCG or at the various boutique venues that started to come into vogue.
He had the charisma and confidence that personified the “modern” one-day player in the first full generation of cricketers who dedicated themselves to the shorter format.
Of course it did not always work, as evidenced by his infamous run-in with Curtly Ambrose in 1993 at the SCG when he told the Windies quick to get rid of the white sweatbands on his wrist because it made it hard to pick up the ball of the same colour.
Chappell, Lillee and Rod Marsh were undoubtedly the marquee attractions of the early days of limited-overs cricket in Australia but as great as they were, none of them were part of an Australian World Cup win. (And you couldn’t really call it the Marsh Cup otherwise it would just be confusing after it was already called that for sponsorship purposes).
By the criteria set out by CA, the other player with the best chance of winning is Bevan, who – like Jones – was a proven match-winner in the 50-over arena at state and international level.
Bevan is the only player to win six domestic titles (five with NSW and one in Tasmania) and his impact in ODIs became legendary – inventing the position of the closer in batting chases long before it became a specialised role.
In his 232 ODI matches, he amassed 6912 runs at 53.58 with only six tons because he spent most of his career batting five or lower.
He was a crucial member of the 1999 and 2003 champion World Cup teams but did not bat in either final.
Of the other players listed as being in the running, it would be odd to name the competition after someone like Hopes, Hodge or Lehmann, who were excellent at the domestic level but were never considered giants of the international game.
Western Australia celebrate with the trophy after winning the One-Day Cup Final in February. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Waugh and Hayden were stellar one-day cricketers but are remembered more for their Test feats while the younger Waugh twin, Mark, was definitely the more impactful 50-over player over the duration of their careers.
Simon O’Donnell, Adam Gilchrist and of course, Shane Warne, would also be worthy options because of their one-day feats but for many reasons, Jones is the standout choice.
Sadly, he is no longer around after his premature death from a stroke at the age of 59 in 2020 but naming the one-day trophy in his honour would be a fitting tribute to a player who helped make one-day cricket a phenomenon in Australia and throughout the world.
And hopefully it will help keep the competition relevant in an age when T20 leagues and Test cricket are swamping the 50-over format.
Even though it is going down the path of the Sheffield Shield and being played before dwindling crowds at suburban venues, CA needs to invest in the tournament to ensure Australia retain the pipeline of talent which has led to a record six World Cup wins since the first tournament nearly half a century ago.
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