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Jones' wife pays tribute to cricket great

3 minute read

The wife of Dean Jones says she is "devastated beyond belief" after the Australian cricket great died of a heart attack.

Dean Jones' wife Jane has paid tribute to the love of her life and thanked Brett Lee for trying to revive the Australian cricket great.

The cricket world has been mourning the death of Jones, who died of a heart attack in India on Thursday, aged 59.

Jane and Jones' daughters Isabella and Phoebe are "devastated and saddened beyond belief".

"My beautiful husband, the love of my life has lived his life with every bit of energy at his disposal, and he leaves an enormous gap in our lives which can never be filled," Jane wrote in a statement.

"He leaves us with so many wonderful memories that will last forever.

"At this challenging time, when our grief is so raw, we have drawn much consolation from the many messages of goodwill and support from so many people around the world.

"Given Dean's special love for the sub-continent, it was especially touching to hear so broadly from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

"We are overwhelmed by the scale of the response to the news of his death and we will forever be grateful for that."

Former Australian fast bowler Lee spent up to 30 minutes performing CPR on Jones after he collapsed in a Mumbai hotel.

The pair were in the country to commentate on the Indian Premier League for Star Sports India.

A shaken Lee bravely fronted up to his scheduled television appearance, alongside former New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris, only hours after Jones' death.

"We want to especially thank and acknowledge Brett Lee's tireless efforts to keep Dean alive," Jane said.

"We would sincerely ask the cricketing world to respect the privacy of our family.

"Details of Dean's memorial celebration will be released in due course, so everyone has the chance to rightly commemorate his wonderful legacy and bid farewell."

Jones played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia and is regarded as one of the country's greatest white-ball players.

A favourite of so many of the sport's fan in the 1980s and early 1990s, Jones was inducted into the Australian cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.

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