Jones plans another charity walk

Former Australian Test cricketer Dean Jones is set to embark on yet another charity walk, this time from Cairns to Sydney in 37 days. He will join 10 former rugby league greats, to be announced next week, for the inaugural Legends of Origin relay, with all proceeds donated to the children's charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

in 2003 Jones walked from Sydney to Melbourne as part of a lingering bet with former England allrounder Ian Botham. Botham challenged Jones and Allan Border to walk for charity because he had "never seen an Australian walk during his career". The pair, along with David Boon, have raised over Aus$2 million from their walks. The 3,500km Legends of Origin walk begins in Cairns on May 10 with the finish coinciding with State Of Origin 2 in Sydney on June 15.

Jones said the idea came about over "several beers" with Laurie Daley. But they won't be walking the entire way. They are planning to enlist the help of yachts, hot rods, Harley Davidson motorbikes, road trains, bicycles and jet skis for the relay team. "I don't think they could walk all the way because they'd need a bit of preparation for that, but having 80-odd events in 37 days is bloody hard work," Jones said.

He added that he hoped the experience would help bring the fierce former foes closer. "There's still that rivalry, you can feel it, which is great. But at the same time, while the older blokes have got to pump the game up, they need to relax a little, enjoy what they did, how good they were and create more friendships between the two teams."