Queanbeyan's Jono Dean signs autographs during last week's Prime Minister's XI match at Manuka Oval. Photos: Melissa Adams, Canberra Times
Queanbeyan's Jono Dean plays a ball on the leg side during his quickfire innings of 51 (40) against the West Indies. Photos: Melissa Adams, Canberra Times
QUEANBEYAN cricketer Jono Dean is refusing to get caught up in the hype following his scene stealing knock in Tuesday’s Prime Minister’s XI victory over the West Indies at Manuka Oval.
Dean’s whirlwind 51 off just 40 balls at the top of the order for the PM’s outfit has only served to stoke speculation regarding the 28-year-old’s chances of securing a professional state contract.
“I’ve been asked about that a lot [since Tuesday] and if something positive comes out of it, that’s great but if it doesn’t, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” Dean told The Queanbeyan Age following his half-century heroics.
“I’m just happy to have got some runs on the board and my name up in lights to let the right people know that I’m around.”
Tuesday’s match may have been the biggest stage of his career to date, but Dean signalled from the outset he was far from cowed by the occasion.
The big hitting right-hander smoked his first ball from West Indies captain Darren Sammy to the boundary before going on to hit seven more 4s and two 6s, much to the delight of a parochial local crowd.
“It was nice to get one in the slot first ball,” Dean said. “Any batsman will tell you if you get a couple in the middle early you start to feel pretty good and I felt like I’d been hitting the ball well since Christmas so I felt like I settled down pretty quickly.”
And after witnessing Dean’s explosive power from the crease, both former Australian captain Ricky Pointing and West Indian opener Keiran Powell declared the ACT Comets skipper a ready-made BBL prospect.
But Dean has been disappointed before. Over the past two seasons, Dean has scored contracts with the Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Renegades BBL franchises only to miss out on making his Big Bash debut.
