Aaron Jones doesn’t have the immense build of the archetypal power-hitter. His compact shoulders are not muscled as some of them are; he doesn’t possess the pyrotechnics of new-age T20 batsmen. None of these mattered for Aaron Jones to smear 10 sixes, several of them landed outside the arena, and four fours to reel out 94 runs off 40 balls and pinch a seven-wicket win for the USA over bitter rivals Canada in the opening game of World Cup.
What Aaron Jones has are ambition, explosive power and self-belief, a useful combination when his burning desire is to take American cricket to further heights, en route to providing the critics in his home country Barbados wrong, perhaps catch the attention of an IPL scout, and in the process become the figurehead of American cricket.
Aaron Jones hits an entertaining 94 of 40 balls to propel USA win
Aaron Jones had played with the likes of Jason Holder and Shai Hope, made his first-class debut in 2017 but moved to USA when he didn’t get a long run in Barbados . He didn’t specify the intended target of his words, but he strode onto bat with the daring of a man who wanted to prove the critics wrong. For much of his career, the 29-year-old dreamt of playing for the West Indies.
Aaron Jones is from the proudest cricketing tradition among all the islands, did the hard yards along with the likes of Jason Holder and Shai Hope, made his first-class debut in 2017, yet he, in an interview with Barbados Today in 2019, “says he never got a decent run” in the domestic side. “I wanted to stay here and fight for my place here. But I know that is a lost battle,” he said. So he made use of his American passport and switched to his country of birth the same year.
The facilities were not the same. Initially, Aaron Jones played in parks and on Astro-turfs. He took up part-time coaching to meet ends. But the dream of playing international cricket fueled him. A few months after relocating, he made his T20I debut for USA against UAE.
In no time’s he became an indispensable furniture of the team, soon becoming the highest run-getter for his USA in ODIs and the second on the list of his team’s T20I charts. Aaron Jones lone international hundred, against Namibia, helped his team acquire ODI status, but his most famous knock yet was born in Dallas. A breakthrough moment for himself and USA cricket.
He strode in with his team in strife, having lost captain Monank Patel with the total score on 42, chasing a steep 195 for victory. He explained his mindset in the press conference: “When I went out to bat tonight, I just saw it as another game to fight for me and bring my team as close as possible to the line, and if we get as close as possible to the line and over the line, it’s great for the team.”
Seven tentative balls — he nearly nicked behind first ball, off a vicious Dillon Heyliger away-swinger — and heaved the eighth into the second tier of the stadium. A torrent of sixes would flow—most of them slog sweeps (five of his ten sixes). Off the 22nd ball, he had completed his half-century, with his sixth six. He was most severe on Gujranwala-born left-arm spinner Saad bin Zafar, who he hefted for three sixes an over. His leg-side preference was well evident — all ten sixes were hit in this direction.
Post 50, he slowed down, relatively that is, to enable Andries Gous some fun en route to chopping 65 off 46 balls. The 131-run-stand was pure T20 entertainment, and effectively nailed the win, even though Gous departed with the score on 173. Fittingly, with a slog-swept six, Jones completed a win that could be more than a win for his adopted country. A statement win; a start perhaps to a more fulfilling tournament.
USA’s Aaron Jones hits back at critics after sensational 94* in T20 World Cup 2024
USA’s Aaron Jones played a stunning knock of 94* off just 40 balls to help his team kickstart their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a comprehensive win over Canada in Dallas on Sunday, June 2. Jones’ blitz ensured the USA chased down a daunting target of 195 with seven wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.
After the game, the batter shed light on being excluded from the initial round of the Major League Cricket (MLC) draft for the next season. Jones believes he has the ability to be consistent in T20 cricket and hit back at his doubters with a brilliant knock.
Here’s what Aaron Jones was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo:
“Hope it opens the eyes of some people around the world that I am good enough to play T20 cricket. When I wasn’t selected in the Major League, I just took it as a stepping stone in the journey. I would have loved to get drafted, so it goes sometimes. Hopefully tonight’s innings will probably open the eyes of those who don’t know me or USA cricket.”
Aaron Jones hit a staggering 10 sixes in his knock of 94, just one maximum less than the record for the most sixes in a T20 World Cup innings by an individual set by Chris Gayle. This innings might well help him bag a contract when the next round of the MLC draft happens on June 16.
Aaron Jones on his partnership with Andries Gous
Aaron Jones and Andries Gous added as many as 131 runs for the third wicket and that turned the chase on its head. Jones opened up on the conversation he had with Gous during the partnership and shared his thoughts on the importance of being fearless despite the situation. Here’s what Jones told his partner:
“If we want to win the game, we got to be aggressive, we got to be positive. Either we go down, die hard and we get bowled out for whatever score, or we try to get the score. We want to be fearless, we want to be positive, we want to play smart cricket. In being fearless, we want to have good shot selection as well.”
The USA will next play Pakistan in Dallas on Thursday, June 6 and Aaron Jones has assured that the hosts will once again look to be aggressive and not get intimidated by the stature of their opponents.