'Mug lair' Deano move that changed cricket

Dean Jones revolutionised cricket with a move for which he was initially branded a "mug lair": wearing sunglasses while fielding.

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor paid tribute to Jones for being the first player to don sunnies while fielding in international cricket, which he did in the early 1990s.

Sunglasses quickly became standard fare, with obvious benefits during long days out in the glaring sunshine.

They now form part of Jones' legacy in the game, after he died from a heart attack at age 59 last week in Mumbai.

"I think when he first brought them into training, we all thought, 'Here comes Deano the mug lair with his sunnies on, looking sharp'," Taylor, a top-notch slips fieldsman who took 157 Test catches, said on Sports Sunday.

"I've got to say, I tried them out and I reckon by the end of that summer, I was wearing them and I found them very useful in the field because they actually saved you eyes.

"They obviously kept the glare out of your eyes but also, they stopped your eyes from getting tired; after five, six, seven hours in the field, your eyes were more rested at the end of the day."

Current Australian coach Justin Langer also paid tribute to Jones' for introducing sunglasses, which are now worn by fieldsmen from Test cricket to local sixth grade.

"He revolutionised the game, Jonesy out there with the Oakleys," Langer said last week after news of Jones' passing.

"You don't see a player out there now without sunglasses. I didn't even know what sunglasses were before Dean Jones. There you go, another legacy of Jonesy."

Jones took 34 catches from 52 Tests and 54 catches in 164 ODIs for Australia.

The brilliant batsman was renowned for incessantly thinking outside the box and going against the grain, as he did to introduce sunglasses to elite cricket.



from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/dean-jones-sunglasses-fielding-revolution-mark-taylor-justin-langer/f7b03f6c-f769-4823-8ebf-df15fc938498

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