my dean jones interview - part one

I’m going to be honest with you, some days as a cricket blogger, it’s hard to come up with things to write.

Then other days Dean Jones gives an interview on Cric Info.

Here are some extracts with some comments made my yours truly.

This is part one, because Deano had a lot to say.

And they must have edited out the bit where he said, that question reminded me of the cut shot I played off Bishen Bedi In madras…

Frankly, I never had any cricketing heroes when I was growing up. It probably helped my game because sometimes young players can be overawed when they play Test cricket. Your heroes have two arms and two legs, they wear the same pants, they go to toilet like everyone else. Get on and play.

I am assuming he means I never had any cricketing heroes other than himself.

I was very, very sick the night before my debut Test. I wasn't even picked in the original XII but had to be drafted in after Steve Smith fell ill and opted out. I was probably in worse health than him, but I ended up playing the West Indies quicks on a green pitch. That 48 in the first innings remains my best knock. It was a damp pitch and the ball was making divots in the surface, so I knew I couldn't drive any. "The only drive you get is to and from the ground," Joel Garner reminded me.

So it’s Joel Garners fault I hear that quote come out of your mouth every slow pitch, any time bowlers are bowling short, or when you have nothing else to say.

Wearing the baggy green cap is a nice honour, but not a great honour. A great honour is being regarded as a great player.

So it was nice for you then.

The tied Test in Madras in 1986 was the defining moment of my career. It was my third Test. During the game Allan Border told me, "Listen, if you want the No. 3's job, it's here for you. It's up to you if you wanna grab it. Bradman, Harvey, [Ian] Chappell held it. Understand its importance and respect it."

Was that the last time AB mentioned you in the same breath as real number 3 batsmen?

Javed Miandad, Viv Richards, Martin Crowe - I wanted to play my game like them. I wanted to be aggressive, take people on, run hard between the wickets, slide into fences.

Dude you wanted to be Martin Crowe, not bat like him, but actually be him, wear his skin to a costume party sort of thing.

Part two available tomorrow.www.cricketwithballs.com "Practice Sehwagology and kill the Probots"