MELBOURNE: Ahead of the first T20I match between Australia and New Zealand women teams, a minute's silence will be observed in honour of the former cricketer Dean Jones, who passed away aged 59.
Australia will also be wearing black armbands during the match, Cricket.com.au reported. The first game of the three-match T20I series will begin on Saturday.
Australia's head coach Matthew Mott expressed sadness over Jones' demise.
"It's incredibly sad, and sudden. I think everyone was very shocked, I was flipping through Facebook this morning and there were just so many tributes," Cricket.com.au quoted Mott as saying.
"I grew up, like every Australian kid my age, just loving the way he played the game, especially one-day cricket. He probably doesn't get enough credit for being one of the catalysts for change in one-day cricket. His running between the wickets and just the energy that he brought to that format was amazing," he added.
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The former Australia cricketer turned commentator passed away due to a cardiac arrest. He represented Australia in 52 Tests and 164 One-Day Internationals.
Jones was also a stalwart of Victorian cricket during the 1980s and 1990s and retired as the state's leading first-class run-scorer. He went on to become a highly-regarded coach and commentator.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006 for his services to cricket and charity and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.