Mel Jones on Cricket, Commentary, Afghanistan, Backyard Sport and Finding the Next Path
Former Australian cricketer, commentator and sport leader Mel Jones joins Scoreboard to reflect on her life in cricket, from backyard games and playing for Australia to the unexpected commentary opportunity that changed her career, her work helping Afghan women cricketers, and why the best sporting journeys are built through curiosity, community and staying open to what comes next.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- How Mel’s love of cricket began through family, backyard games and a connection to the West Indies
- Why her pathway into the Australian women’s team was so different from the opportunities young girls can see today
- What playing in an unpaid but highly professional women’s cricket era taught her about pride, legacy and responsibility
- How getting dropped opened the door to commentary and changed the direction of her career
- Why Mel believes young athletes should avoid narrowing themselves too early and stay curious about other sports and life experiences
- How cricket became part of a much bigger story through her work supporting Afghan women cricketers
- Why her favourite sporting moments are tied to belonging, history and the growth of women’s sport
The Power of Cricket Beyond the Boundary
Mel Jones’ life in cricket has taken her from the backyard to the commentary box, but some of her most meaningful work has happened far away from a scoreboard. In 2021, while in quarantine after returning from the UK, she was contacted by Indian cricket journalist Sharda Ugra about the safety of Afghan women cricketers after the Taliban takeover. What followed quickly became a complex, emotional and urgent effort to help players, administrators and family members find safety.
Mel connected with one of the Afghan players, Benafsha, and soon found herself in a WhatsApp group with 19 contracted players, trying to navigate humanitarian visas, border crossings, checkpoints and government processes. With Emma Staples and Dr Catherine Ordway, she helped coordinate a process that eventually brought more than 130 players, administrators and family members to Australia.
“I think what you certainly realise, and I absolutely love the sport of cricket. I love the community side of cricket.”
For Mel, the experience showed the best of the cricket community. Clubs and volunteers reached out, helped settle players and opened their arms during a traumatic time. It was a reminder that sport can be more than competition. It can be safety, community and a way to rebuild.
Backyard Cricket, West Indies Heroes and Finding the Game
Mel’s love of cricket started in a very Australian way: family holidays, backyard games and long summers outside. Her mother came from Rutherglen in country Victoria, where Mel spent Christmas holidays playing backyard cricket with six male cousins. Her father was from Trinidad, and through him she also had a connection to the great West Indies teams of the era.
He knew a number of West Indian cricketers, and when they toured Australia, he would send Mel signed Wisden magazines or get her tickets to games. That gave her a slightly different cricket identity as a kid. While many young Australians were watching the Australian men’s team, Mel felt a strong connection to the West Indies.
The pathway for girls at the time was nothing like it is today. Young players now can watch the WBBL, see the Australian women’s team on television and know there is a national side to aspire to. Mel did not have that same visibility.
“I was aspiring to kicking Allan Border out of the middle order of the Australian men’s team because I just had no idea there was an Aussie women’s team.”
Her schools played a huge role in changing that. At Middle Park Primary School, teachers supported her playing with the boys. Later, at Elwood High, her geography teacher John Hanscomb helped put together a girls cricket team and connected players with local clubs. Once Mel entered the club system, the idea of playing for Australia finally became real.
Playing for Australia in a Different Era
Mel still remembers the shock of being selected for Australia. She was at the SCG after a state final against New South Wales, standing at the back of the room during the Australian team announcement, not expecting her name to be called. When it was, she almost missed it.
Her first game for Australia came against Pakistan in Melbourne, during one of the first overseas tours by the Pakistan women’s team. It was 43 degrees, the Pakistan players were observing Ramadan, and the match was played at a school rather than a major stadium. Mel went out with a couple of overs to go and was caught, joking that it may have been the only catch Pakistan took that day.
The women’s game has changed enormously since then. Mel played in an era where the Australian team operated professionally in almost every way except payment. The players trained, toured, won World Cups and Ashes series, and carried the responsibility of inspiring the next generation, but they were not paid to play.
“It was a professional team without being professionals, if you know what I mean.”
What makes Mel proud now is not only the success of that team, but how many of those players stayed connected to cricket after their playing days. Belinda Clark, Lisa Keightley, Julia Price, Shelley Nitschke and others have gone on to shape the sport as leaders, coaches and developers. For Mel, that connection to the game’s past and future is part of the legacy.
Batting, Patience and Creating Your Own Style
Mel started as a bowler in Australian youth teams, joking that there is no footage to verify the pace. Back issues pushed her towards batting, and over time she found herself drawn to the tension and creativity of it. Batting appealed because of the one-chance nature of it. You can train for hours, feel good, and still be gone with one mistake.
For Mel, batting was also about partnership. She liked working through difficult periods with someone at the other end, taking pressure off each other and staying focused on the process rather than just the result. She describes cricket as a team sport with a deeply individual contest at its heart.
“Cricket’s a fantastic team sport, but it’s probably the most individual team sport you’re ever going to come across.”
Her own style was shaped by the places she played as a kid. In her grandparents’ backyard, a spiky bush protected one side of the ground and her nan’s chook shed sat on the hook shot side. Like so many young cricketers, she learned shots through the geography of the backyard.
That is part of her advice to young batters now. Build a defence that works for you, but do not think it has to look perfect or traditional. Get into the nets, create scenarios, find ways to score and protect your wicket, and learn how to adapt across formats and conditions. For Mel, the best players are the ones who can problem-solve.
The Scoreboard Moment: Getting Dropped and Finding Commentary
Mel’s Scoreboard Moment came from disappointment. She was dropped from the Australian team while she was in England working at Surrey Cricket, just as the Australian women were touring for the Ashes. At the same time, Sky Sports needed an Australian voice for one of the televised women’s internationals.
At first, Mel had no interest.
“Why would I want to commentate on a game that I want to be playing in?”
Then she was told the job paid 300 pounds.
“Tell me where, when, and what to wear.”
That moment changed the direction of her life. If she had played in that series, she may never have entered the commentary box. She might have stayed on a coaching path, which had always been one of her interests. Instead, she found herself working alongside names like David Gower, Ian Botham, Bob Willis and others, beginning a media career that has now become a major part of her life in cricket.
Mel is honest about her early commentary work, saying her voice sounded like she had inhaled helium when Sky recently sent her the footage. But the lesson stayed with her. Commentary, like sport, requires growth. You learn, adjust and become more yourself over time.
Her view of good commentary is simple: be genuine, be prepared and know the audience. Former players know the game, but that alone is not enough. You need stories, research, awareness and the ability to educate without talking down to people.
“First and foremost, you’ve got to be yourself.”
The Joy of Play and the Sporting Moments That Stay
Even after years in elite cricket and broadcast boxes around the world, Mel still comes back to the simple joy of play. During an Ashes Test in Canberra, rain delayed the match and she noticed kids playing makeshift cricket on the concourse with a water bottle and improvised stumps. She took a prop bat from the commentary room and ran it down to them, giving them something to use.
It was a small moment, but it connected to a bigger belief. Mel loves backyard cricket and the way kids create their own rules, games and challenges. That kind of play is where so much sporting love begins.
When asked for her favourite sporting moments, Mel has a few. As a fan, she goes to Wimbledon, watching Ash Barty win and feeling the emotion of that moment, especially with the history of Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Ash’s own journey. As a broadcaster, she remembers the 2020 T20 World Cup final at the MCG, when Australia defeated India in front of more than 86,000 people.
That moment carried extra meaning because Mel had watched the Australian women play at the same ground decades earlier in front of only a couple of thousand people.
As a player, her favourite memory is not a World Cup. It is winning a club premiership with EMP after an 18-year gap. She was coaching and playing, and the joy around the club made it unforgettable.
That says a lot about Mel’s scoreboard. The biggest memories are not always the biggest trophies. Sometimes they are the moments where a whole community feels part of the win.
Staying Curious and Not Pigeonholing Too Early
For young athletes, Mel’s advice is to avoid narrowing the path too soon. She understands the pressure now around pathways, rep teams and early specialisation, but believes kids need room to play, explore and develop different parts of themselves.
“Don’t pigeonhole yourself too soon.”
Mel believes other sports and life experiences help create better athletes. They build game sense, tactical awareness, problem-solving and adaptability. Cricket is not only about hitting, bowling and catching. It is about reading situations, finding different plans and having the balance to stay curious outside the game.
That also shapes how she sees the future of cricket. By 2030, she hopes the sport has tackled its scheduling problems so that matches have more relevance and the best players are in the best competitions. She also wants the women’s game to keep expanding globally, with World Cups that include more teams and development that reaches beyond the same few nations at the top.
There is still work to do, but Mel remains deeply connected to the game because cricket continues to provide enjoyment, opportunity and careers for people around the world.
Final Word
Mel Jones’ story is about cricket, curiosity and finding purpose in the turns you did not expect.
She was the kid playing backyard cricket in Rutherglen, the young girl who did not know there was an Australian women’s team, the player who became part of a great era without ever being paid to play, and the cricketer whose disappointment at being dropped opened the door to a commentary career.
Her scoreboard is not just World Cups, Ashes series, broadcast roles or major cricket moments. It is the community clubs that helped Afghan women cricketers settle in Australia. It is the teacher who opened a pathway. It is the players from her era still shaping the game. It is the backyard rules that built a batting style. It is the first commentary shift she never planned to take. It is the kids playing cricket with a water bottle during a rain delay.
For Mel, cricket has always been more than a game.
It is community, opportunity, storytelling and play.
And sometimes, the path that changes everything begins with the moment you thought was a setback.