Dean Jones’ namesake son, Koby Dean Hamilton-Jones, may not have been at the late cricketer’s funeral, but he’s certainly inherited the legendary batsman’s ability on the pitch.
With his heart set on playing cricket for Australia one day, Koby declares with a big grin, “I’ll be a better bowler than Dad!”
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Though the 14-year-old does admit “there’s a bit to go” in the batting department before he can emulate Dean’s incredible cricketing feats.
This includes notching up 3631 runs in 52 Tests between 1984 and 1992.
For the first time ever, Koby is opening up publicly about the love he shared with his dad, and the pain and grief he endured when ‘Deano’ died suddenly in Mumbai on September 24, 2020, from a stroke.
He was aged just 59.
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“I think he would love the idea of me playing cricket,” Koby tells New Idea in an exclusive interview.
“I miss his funny sense of humour. I miss how much he loved me. I miss how much he cared for me and my mother. I miss how sporty he was. I love how he got into everything I did. I just miss all of him.”
Koby’s mum Kerri-Anne Hamilton met Dean at a celebrity golf day in Sydney in 1998 when she was 24 and he was 36.
Dean had recently retired from Test and One Day International cricket, and soon they were hopelessly in love.
Three months later, Kerri-Anne found out Dean was still married to his wife, Jane, and was raising two daughters with her in Melbourne.
They broke up, but eventually resumed their relationship.
Then, they briefly split up again when Kerri-Anne fell pregnant with Koby, who didn’t meet his dad until he was two years old.
“I remember it like it was yesterday because it was so emotional,” Kerri-Anne tells us.
“Dean sent me a message saying ‘this is silly I need to meet my son and I want to meet my son.’
“Koby came down the stairs like a rocket. He literally jumped into his arms and gave him a big bear hug, and snuggled his head into his neck.”
The bond father and son formed that day was never broken. Kerri-Anne, 49, says she and Koby became Dean’s second family.
They spent time together at her home and enjoyed trips together around Australia and the world on the back of Dean’s coaching and commentating careers.
“The most realistic way to describe it is that we weren’t a secret,” she says.
“We were only a secret to his family. It wasn’t a secret to anyone else. He just didn’t tell his family and how that managed to go on for as long as it did, I don’t know.”
Their relationship became public knowledge when Koby was 14 months old.
Many people, including Dean’s wife and two daughters, thought the affair was over for good.
“That’s the heartbreaking thing about this. Deano loved everyone and he wanted everyone to be happy. He didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
“That’s why he didn’t want his wife to know about Koby and I. It would have been too hurtful for her, and I get it,” Kerri-Anne says.
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Kerri-Anne and Koby watched Dean’s funeral at his beloved MCG on TV.
Due to COVID restrictions, just 10 guests were on hand to farewell the cricketing great, including his wife and two daughters, who are now both in their early twenties.
Kerri-Anne and Koby, who spoke to Dean on the phone just three days before he died were not invited.
“That was the single most heartbreaking day of our lives. It was horrific. Of course, Koby wondered why he wasn’t there. I get the sensitivity of the matter and I get that everybody’s heart was broken, but still I hoped…” Kerri-Anne says.
Three years on, Kerri-Anne and her son are still grieving their loss.
Koby’s passion for cricket is his personal way of honouring his dad – although make no mistake, he’s very determined to make his own mark.
The budding fast bowler from Sydney’s south-western outskirts has only notched up two seasons but has become one of the best bowlers in the junior team he plays for.
Last year, they won the Grand Final.
“I want to have that baggy green on my head as soon as possible,” Koby says.
“I know I’ve got a long way to go but I know I can get to that level. I do watch Dad’s old clips when I’ve finished all my schoolwork and I have some spare time. I watch his clips to see how better I can get at batting. Just to see how good he was in his glory days.”
Kerri-Anne is clearly proud of the young man her son is becoming. Last year, she took Koby to Melbourne to show him Dean’s hometown and old haunts. This included the MCG, where so much of Deano’s life played out.
He is celebrated in huge photos, memorabilia and even gives his name to the Dean Jones Bar.
Koby also wears 24 on his cricket shirt – because Dean was born on March 24, died on September 24 and his highest score was 324.
When the teen plays in an important match, he also takes his dad’s favourite flopping hat with him.
Koby’s cricket coach Jordan Browne, from high-performance academy mcPEAC, says he could pick Koby’s pedigree from the first moment he saw him in action.
“He was just pure, raw talent and a natural athlete,” he tells us.
“His dad would be so proud.”
