"Hope it opens the eyes of some people around the world"- 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."
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.