Aaron Jones, the USA batter, captured attention with an explosive performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 opener, smashing 10 sixes in an unbeaten 94 to lead the USA to victory over Canada in Dallas. As the co-hosts’ vice-captain, Jones showcased his prowess by dismantling Canada’s bowling attack with his 40-ball blitz, helping the USA chase down 195 runs with seven wickets in hand.
His heroics have left many wondering about his background. Born on October 19, 1994, in Queens, New York to Barbadian parents, Jones initially aimed to play for the West Indies. He began his professional cricket career with Combined Campuses in 2016 in List A cricket and made his first-class debut for Barbados in 2017.
His journey with the USA national team started in 2018 with his ODI debut, followed by his first T20I cap in 2019. Jones, now 29, achieved his highest ODI score of 123 not out against Scotland in August 2022, while his unbeaten 94 against Canada stands as his best in T20Is.
Despite being signed by the Rangpur Riders for the 2023 Bangladesh Premier League and the Seattle Orcas for the inaugural season of Major League Cricket in 2023, Jones did not get a chance to play in these tournaments. Ahead of the World Cup opener, Jones expressed the team’s commitment to giving their best, regardless of the outcome.
Dedicating my first Man of the match to my idol's
— Aaron Jones (@Mecca_Joness) June 2, 2024
Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli .
Learnt cricket seeing them and now it's time to dedicate pic.twitter.com/3T1C6PHTgN
Quoted by the ICC, he stated, “We don’t want to regret anything. We want to leave everything out there on the park. If we come out on top, it’s great. If we don’t come out on top, that’s how cricket goes sometimes. But we don’t want to regret anything. I think that we’ve been challenged to be honest, but definitely we have a good squad.”
After the match, Jones emphasized that pressure enhances his performance.
“I don’t think it is easy to put it into words. Happy to get my team over the line. I thought anything under 200 is chaseable. We wanted to play aggressive cricket. I think I go through my process while I practice. To be honest, when my team is under pressure it gets the best out of me,” he said during the post-match presentation.
The USA team is set to play against Pakistan on June 6th in New York.
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