Friday 13 June 1997
Jones quits at Derbyshire as unrest grows
By Neil Hallam
WEEKS of unrest within the Derbyshire dressing-room came to a
head yesterday when the club`s Australian captain, Dean Jones,
resigned amid accusations of a lack of support from senior
players.
Jones, who scored 1,338 runs in leading Derbyshire to second
place in the County Championship last season, their best finish since 1936, has quit both as captain and overseas play- er
and is expected to fly home to Australia this weekend.
He blamed the county`s wretched start to the season on senior
players "who have great difficulty in coming to terms with the
fundamentals necessary for success".
In a statement issued through the club, Jones alleged: "Over the
past month, a few senior players have failed to give me any
support in my endeavours to carry on the club`s success from last
season. I can no longer tolerate the current situation."
No names were mentioned but it is common knowledge that Jones`s
relationships with Dominic Cork and Phil DeFreitas, and former
captain Kim Barnett, had become tense.
Cork is believed to have been upset by remarks Jones is alleged
to have made about the groin strain which has kept Cork out of
action since the first championship game of the season.
Derbyshire said yesterday that Cork`s injury has been diagnosed
as a `Gilmore groin` by the Harley Street specialist Gerry
Gilmore, after whom the condition, a form of hernia, is named.
Secretary Stewart Edwards said: "As a result of this diagnosis, Dominic will undergo surgery on Tuesday and will need six
weeks for recuperation."
DeFreitas is known to have had a number of confrontations
over what he sees as Jones`s tactical limitations and perceived poor man-management skills.
Barnett, who retired from the captaincy two seasons ago after 13
years in charge, has worked hard to stay away from dressing-room
politics since then but in recent weeks has felt himself targeted for criticism. There have also been persistent rumours
that Jones and Les Stillman, the former Victoria coach he took
with him to the County Ground, had "grown apart" on many issues.
In an attempt to get all the grievances out in the open,
club chairman Mike Horton and cricket committee chairman Ian Buxton on Tuesday summoned the two Australians to a meeting, which
also included DeFreitas and Barnett. Hopes of peace and a renewed
focus within the dressing-room proved futile.
When confronted with complaints about his leadership, Jones insisted on resignation, leaving Derbyshire in disarray after a
poor start to the season which has left them one point off
the bottom of the championship and the Sunday League. They also went out of the Benson and Hedges Cup at the zonal stage.
Jones`s selection policy has contributed to grumbling among
some of the younger players. Batsman Michael Mays was said to
be "devastated" when he was dropped after making a career-best
67 in Derbyshire`s recent victory over the Australians, and Johnny Owen, who scored two centuries last season, has since disappeared from the senior squad.
Speaking after the success against the tourists, Jones said:
"Let`s hope this sparks us to get everything moving in the right
direction again."
In the event, one spark from that game ignited further problems
for Jones. Several players shared the committee`s dismay when
Jones backed Chris Adams in a disciplinary wrangle over the batsman`s protracted display of dissent towards umpire Vanburn Holder.
Adams, Jones`s closest ally in the dressing-room, initially
refused to accept the club`s punishment but later agreed to
pay a fine of -L750.
Yesterday, after demanding an end to back-biting during a meeting
with the team, Horton said: "Dean Jones`s departure is the result of an internal political situation which we had hoped to
overcome without any such drastic reaction.
"I spent a lot of hours trying to dissuade Dean and he was also
told that he should stay and see it through by the senior
players, but he insisted on going and I have had to accept that
reluctantly. I`m devastated."
The situation appears to have parallels with that which precipitated Jones`s removal from the captaincy of Victoria two years
ago after what was described as a "dressing-room coup".
Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/)