It was Dean Jones’ splendid show of endurance in extremely hot and humid conditions at the Chepauk that made the Madras Test in 1986 part of cricket folklore. His 210 in 502 minutes and 330 balls was a striking feature of that Tied Test. The spirited Australian has come up with an 85-page piece of contribution to the game titled Dean Jones’ Cricket Tips(the things they don’t teach you at academies) .
“This book is about one-percenters, and finding the edge. It is targeted at absolutely every cricketer, from eight-year-olds to internationals, boys and girls,” writes Jones in his introduction. The book is laced with illustrations by John Spooner and covers all aspects of the game — batting, bowling, fielding, wicket keeping, strategy, mindset, tactics, fitness and diet.
Jones is a traditionalist, who respects the modern trends. Is there space for traditionalists in contemporary cricket? “Absolutely,” he affirms. “We need to look after Test cricket though.” He argued in his Sydney Morning Herald column, “If Test cricket continues on its current descent it will be dead within a decade. TV ratings in Asia are declining at a rapid rate and the interest in this format is becoming non-existent with Asian youth. If the Asian fans are not interested, then the Test format will be finished. I can hear many people say Test cricket will always survive. Well, when the best players leave Test cricket to play T20, which is already happening, this will leave us with mediocre Tests. Test cricket needs to become more exciting, it needs more marketing.”
The book, published by Westland, is embellished with enlightening conversations with stalwarts like Ricky Ponting, Wasim Akram, VVS Laxman, Waqar Younis, Rahul Dravid, Ian Healey, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Clarke and Sourav Ganguly.
VVS Laxman
“The major secret for me was that I wore three very thick socks on each foot. Socks are the key,” says Akram on the importance of boots and protection of feet for fast bowlers. Laxman reveals his penchant to tend the pitch. “I always tried to keep the pitch clean of any debris when I batted. Proper maintenance of a pitch and the bowlers’ footholds is imperative to making consistently big scores. I recommend that a batsman cleans it properly, and makes it a part of his routine. Also just bat session to session.”
Wasim Akram
Insight into adapting
Sachin Tendulkar offers insight into adapting. He tells Jones, “You need to adapt to the conditions and play the right strokes accordingly. What I learned to do when feeling uncomfortable was to change my stance. So if you don’t feel right at the crease, be proactive and don’t be scared to change your stance to give yourself a better feeling from within.” Credit to Jones for extracting this gem from the master technician.
Sachin Tendulkar
How did Jones view the essence of technique given the rapid demand of a different game in the shape of T20? “Forget about large size bats, the biggest changes around the world is the agronomy of Test pitches around the world. It’s amazing how flat pitches are now in Test and ODI matches. India, of late, have prepared some interesting pitches. I like them. Batsmen now have to use their bat instead of using their pads due to DRS. So, batsmen can't just throw their pad to defend and get away with it now as they will be given out LBW. What batsmen of today will have to do and go back to the way past batsmen did 70-80 years ago and use their feet more on pitches that turn. Either get to the pitch of the ball on the full or half volley or play the ball off the back foot,” responds Jones.
The book is replete with anecdotal teachings, a must for junior cricketers. Does he believe the coaching standards at the junior level have deteriorated?
“They have a little in Australia as dads are too busy at work,” he says candidly. “Normally it’s the family who firsts coaches a young cricketer on how to play. Sure the kids have their heroes who they try to copy or mimic, but it’s a dad, uncle or brother who helps the young player. I still love the techniques of young Indian batsmen playing today and coming through. They seem so conventional, so balanced and not rushed in anyway. Their defensive skills look far better than others around the world.”
Jones makes another interesting observation. “Interestingly, all the best players in the world are predominantly back foot players now compared to my era and that’s a good thing. Many of them have split grips on the bat as did (Don) Bradman e.g., (David) Warner, AB (de Villiers), (Kane) Williamson, and so on.”
Finally, Jones shares his thoughts on writing this very useful and different coaching book? “I feel that we needed a coaching book with icons showing what worked for them. There is no real right and wrong as pointed out by many of the icons in this book. Most of the game is played between the ears. What I do see is that when we look at all the legends in this book we all know how good they are. We all know they all had amazing offensive or attacking skills. The big thing people forget is that it was their defensive skills that made them the player they were. Sachin took on average 170-180 balls to make a Test 100. The 120-130 balls faced by Sachin were defensive shots. So, in conclusion, if you want freedom to play, you will need to discipline as well to keep the good balls out. It's a two-way street.”
