Simon Jones (cricketer)

Infobox Cricketer


nationality = Welsh
country = England
country abbrev = ENG
name = Simon Jones
picture =
batting style = Left-hand bat
bowling style = Right-arm fast
balls = true
tests = 18
test runs = 205
test bat avg = 15.76
test 100s/50s = -/-
test top score = 44
test overs = 2821
test wickets = 59
test bowl avg = 28.23
test 5s = 3
test 10s = -
test best bowling = 6/53
test catches/stumpings = 4/-
ODIs = 8
ODI runs = 1
ODI bat avg = 1.00
ODI 100s/50s = -/-
ODI top score = 1
ODI overs = 348
ODI wickets = 7
ODI bowl avg = 39.28
ODI 5s = -
ODI 10s = -
ODI best bowling = 2/43
ODI catches/stumpings = -/-
date = 1 January
year = 2006
source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/15555.html

Simon Philip Jones MBE (born 25 December 1978 in Swansea, Glamorgan) is a Welsh cricketer who plays for Worcestershire County Cricket Club and England. His father, Jeff Jones, played cricket for Glamorgan & England in the 1960s.

Early career

A tall (6' 3.5") right-arm fast bowler and left-handed tail end batsman, Jones, whose father, Jeffrey had played for England and Glamorgan County Cricket Club, made his county cricket debut for Glamorgan against Derbyshire at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on 22 August, 1998.

Jones made his Test match debut at Lord's Cricket Ground against India on 25th July, 2002, at the age of 23. After making an impressive 44 from 43 deliveries with the bat, Jones ended the Indian first innings with figures of 2-61 off 21 overs, dismissing Ajay Ratra and Ajit Agarkar. In England's second innings, Jones did not bat as England declared for 301-6, setting India a target of 568 to win. As India chased, Jones took 2-68, bowling Virender Sehwag and having VVS Laxman caught by Michael Vaughan for 74, with England winning the match by 170 runs. Jones was left out of the subsequent three Tests, with the four-match series ending in a 1-1 draw.

After impressing in that one Test, Jones was then selected for the 2002/2003 Ashes tour. However, on the first morning of the first Test at Brisbane Cricket Ground, having bowled 7 overs and taken the wicket of Justin Langer, he suffered a severe injury, rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament while sliding to field a ball. After a lengthy recovery period, he was fit in time to tour the Caribbean in 2004.

West Indies Tour

In March, 2004, England embarked on a tour of the Caribbean, and Jones was included in the squad. In the first Test against the West Indies, at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Jones had match figures of 3-72, dismissing Brian Lara, Ridley Jacobs and Ryan Hinds, as England won the Test match by 10 wickets. In the second Test, Jones took the wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the first innings, before taking 5-57 in the second, dismissing the first four batsmen (Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ridley Jacobs) and Pedro Collins. It was Jones' first five-for in Test cricket, and England won the match by 7 wickets. In the third Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, Jones took just one wicket, in the first innings, that of Collins once again, and did not bowl in the second innings, as England won the match by 8 wickets, and led the series by 3-0. The final Test of the series was equally uneventful for Jones personally, as he took just one wicket, in a first innings in which Brian Lara scored a world record 400 not out. England won the four match series 3-0.

Lead up to The Ashes

In May, 2004, New Zealand toured England. Jones played in the first Test at Lord's, and took match figures of 4-146. England won the match by 7 wickets, but Jones did not play again for England until the West Indies returned to tour.

On the West Indies' return to England in July, 2004, Jones played just one match, again at Lord's, taking one wicket, before finding himself out of the Test lineup, but England went on to win the four match home series 4-0.

In December of that year, Jones was included in the England squad to tour Zimbabwe and South Africa. Jones won his One Day International debut in the third ODI against Zimbabwe on 4th December, 2004. Jones took 2-43 at an economy of 5.375, as England won the match by 7 wickets. Jones then played in the final ODI, this time taking 1-33 at 4.12, with England again winning, this time by 74 runs, and completing the 4-0 series whitewash.

Jones then played in the first Test match in Johannesburg, dismissing Boeta Dippenaar in the first innings before taking 4-39 in the second, including the wicket of Jacques Kallis for 61. England won the match by 7 wickets, with Jones scoring 24 in the first innings. In the second Test at Kingsmead in Durban, Jones scored 21 in England's first innings, and took 2-117 in the match. The match was drawn, and England and Jones moved on to the third Test at Newlands. Here, Jones took 3-84 in the match, but found himself left out of the fourth Test, replaced by James Anderson. England won the fourth Test, but Jones was once again restored to the Test team for the final match of the series at the Supersport Park in Centurion, Gauteng. Jones impressed with 4 wickets in the first innings, conceding just 47 runs, but took just one in the second, as England drew the match but won the series 2-1.

Jones then played both matches in the home Test series against Bangladesh, as England's four-man pace attack of Hoggard, Harmison, Flintoff and Jones prepared for the 2005 Ashes series. The pace attack tore through Bangladesh in the first innings of the first Test, dismissing them for 108, with Jones grabbing the wicket of Javed Omar, and conceding just 4 runs in 6 overs. In the second innings, the England seamers once again dismissed the Bangladeshis for a low score, this time just 159, with Jones picking up figures of 3-29 off 11 overs, while Flintoff, Hoggard and Harmison taking three, two and two wickets respectively, with England winning the match by an innings and 261 runs. The second Test took a similar course, as the England pacers took 19 of the 20 Bangladeshi wickets, with Jones taking 1-75 in the match, with England winning by an innings and 27 runs.

2005 Ashes Series

Jones played in two ODI matches of the NatWest Series in June - July, 2005. Jones took 2-53 in the abandoned 8th match at Edgbaston, before taking 1-45 in the final of the tournament, which ended in a tie.

Then, in the ODI series against Australia in the lead-up to the Ashes, Jones played in two of the three matches of the series, but failed to take a single wicket.

In the first Test of the Ashes series at Lord's, Jones took 2-48 in the first innings, in which Australia were restricted to just 190. Jones also managed 20 not out off 21 deliveries, helping England to a meagre 155 in response to Australia's total. In the second innings, Australia managed 384 all out, setting England a target of 420 to win the match. Jones took 1-69 from his 18 overs. England could only manage 180 in reply, and Australia won the first match by 239.

In the second Test at Edgbaston, Jones played a significant role, scoring 19 not out from 24 deliveries, helping England to a first innings total of 407 all out. Jones then produced a controlled swing performance to dismiss Justin Langer and Brett Lee, capturing figures of 2-69, as Australia were bowled out for 308, 99 runs behind England. Jones was once again undismissed in the second innings, this time for 12, as England set Australia 282 runs to win. Jones dismissed Matthew Hayden for 31 as Australia lost by 2 runs despite brave efforts from Lee and Warne, and Jones finished with figures of 1-23 in the second innings.

The third Test at Old Trafford Cricket Ground was remarkably successful for Jones, as he picked up the wickets of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Michael Clarke, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee, as he collected figures of 6-53, his best bowling innings, before adding the wicket of Michael Clarke, in which Jones bowled a reverse-swinging delivery which Clarke left, expecting the ball to swing away, before it moved back towards the batsman and uprooted his off-stump. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW6SdyoNebo] . This took his match figures to 7-110, his personal best. The match finished in a remarkable draw, as the Australians finished the 5th day just 52 runs behind, and with one wicket remaining.

Jones then succumbed to an ankle injury during the fourth Test, forcing him out of the crucial deciding match at the Oval, as well as out of England's winter tour to Pakistan. Jones finished the Ashes series with 18 wickets at an average of 21.00, and England went on to win the Ashes 2-1, reclaiming the little urn for the first time since 1986-87.

econd major injury

On 26 February, Jones sustained a twisting injury to his left ankle while bowling in the nets in preparation for the first Test of England's tour to India, which commenced on 1 March 2006. On 27th February, Jones was sent home to see a specialist, and played no further part in the Test series.

Having spent the rest of the winter recovering, Jones played his first match since the 4th Ashes Test on the 19 April 2006. Playing for Glamorgan, he took 1 wicket for 23 runs in a match against Cardiff UCCE, and stated he was pleased with his recovery. However on the 1 May he broke down with a new injury to his left knee in a victory against Ireland in the C&G Trophy. The injury kept him out of the Test and O.D.I series against Sri Lanka, which was due to start the next week.

In June 2006, he flew to Colorado for surgery on his knee by surgeon Dr Richard Steadman, with the England team stating that he would not be expected to bowl for five months, and was unlikely to participate in the 2006/07 tour of Australia. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/5051030.stm Ashes heartbreak for bowler Jones] : BBC Sport Cricket, 8 June 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2006.] In the 2006 New Year's Honours List, Jones was awarded the MBE for his role in the successful Ashes tournament, and in April he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

In September 2006, despite continuing injury problems which prevented him from returning to professional cricket until the start of the 2007 domestic season, his Central Contract with the ECB was renewed for another 12 months. Jones returned to action for his county Glamorgan in April 2007.

Move to Worcestershire

As his contract with Glamorgan was due to expire at the end of the 2007 season, Jones was linked with a move away from Glamorgan. After speculation linking him to Hampshire, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/glamorgan/6976402.stm Hampshire clear to speak to Jones] BBC Sport - 3 September 2007] on 19 October Jones moved to Division Two side Worcestershire, on a two year contract. Yet another injury (this time to the neck) confinded Jones to only three overs only in the first game of the 2008 season. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/worcestershire/7052386.stm Worcestershire seal Jones signing] BBC Sport - 19 October, 2007] He returned to action for Worcestershire in a one-day game against Hampshire on 11 May 2008, recording career best figures of 5 for 32 from 10 overs and bowling well over 90mph. This led to speculation that he may yet return to the England team once more. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/jones-rolls-back-the-years-to-shatter-hampshire-hopes-826298.html Jones rolls back the years to shatter Hampshire hopes] The "Independent" - 12 May 2008] cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7488635.stm|title=Jones delight at England call-up|publisher=BBC|date=2008-07-04|accessdate=2008-07-04]

Personal life

Simon Jones lives in Cardiff with girlfriend Justine with whom he has son Harvey (b. November 2006). They are currently expecting their second child. [ [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2007/10/21/new-baby-for-high-life-shy-simon-91466-19985902/ New baby for high-life shy Simon] Wales News - 21 October, 2007]

In February 2006 Jones was placed 9th and the highest placed sportsman in a poll of the world's sexiest men, voted for by readers of New Woman magazine. [ [http://www.newwoman.co.uk/life/100_sexiest_men/ New Woman 100 sexiest men in the world 2006] ]

References

External links

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