Simon Jones - will he play test cricket again?

Surely it's only a matter of whether he can stay fit now?

It's an amazing comeback from where he was this time last year.

He's bowling speeds are good and he's hit 91mph.

3 FC matches, 14 wickets @ 10.64

4 OD matches 9 wickets @ 15.66

Question is - when does he come back & is there a danger of forever waiting for someone to prove they're 'injury free'?

JKLever wrote:Surely it's only a matter of whether he can stay fit now?

It's an amazing comeback from where he was this time last year.

He's bowling speeds are good and he's hit 91mph.

3 FC matches, 14 wickets @ 10.64

4 OD matches 9 wickets @ 15.66

Question is - when does he come back & is there a danger of forever waiting for someone to prove they're 'injury free'?

Let's wait until he can consistently get through a day's play bowling at top speed - then, I shall be convinced. It helps that, he's got bowlers taking wickets at the other end, it reduces the pressure on him enormously.

But fit bowlers can't necessarily keep their speeds up all day

Stamina is looking good - 10 overs on the bounce today.

He got his knee fixed by Richard Steadman, the same guy who does all the footballers and did Michael Vaughan.

Vaughany's done pretty well since his op so hopefully Jonah will be the same.

JKLever wrote: Stamina is looking good - 10 overs on the bounce today.

That's good news: he couldn't have done that 6 weeks ago. If he comes back as part of a four man attack, I think I would want the insurance of someone at six who was fit enough to bowl his share of overs.

In short, Jonah's re-emergence could hasten Colly's exit from the test side in favour of Bopara.

I'm just amazed at the recovery he's made from what we saw last year.

Maybe i'm getting over excited and it's all down to watching too much James Anderson bowl for England.

Its all a bit to fairytale at the moment guys.

Think he needs a good month of solid cricket to be picked.

Anything has got to be better than Jimmykins, even if they are on one leg!

If he carries on like this, I would be tempted to bring him into the side sooner rather than later.

Perhaps for the third Test of the SA series when we're 2-0 down. The third Test is at the end of July so it's two months away. By that time, he should be in pretty tip-top shape.

Good to see he still has the ability to biff it down at number 10/11 too.

what have Worcs done with him that Glammy clearly didn't?

A year ago I really couldn't have seen it happening. But now if he stays fit for the rest of this summer it's hard to see how they can ignore him. The bowling attack is so inconsistent, only Sidebottom is a reliable performer for us at the moment, and we could really do with some genuine pace and reverse swing in the side again.

JKLever wrote:Good to see he still has the ability to biff it down at number 10/11 too.

what have Worcs done with him that Glammy clearly didn't?

New start - it happens with some players - they need to be taken out of their comfort zone. We haven't got a specialist bowling coach - Phil Newport and Stuey Lampitt help out as and when required. So, I would guess a lot of the credit is down to Jones himself. He has, however, been quick to praise the team ethic in the side.

JKLever wrote:Surely it's only a matter of whether he can stay fit now?

It's an amazing comeback from where he was this time last year.

He's bowling speeds are good and he's hit 91mph.

3 FC matches, 14 wickets @ 10.64

4 OD matches 9 wickets @ 15.66

Question is - when does he come back & is there a danger of forever waiting for someone to prove they're 'injury free'?

He's bowled 46 FC overs. I'm not even sure that equates to a full game on a reasonable pitch.

It's great news that his pace and skill seem to be intact. The final proving point, though, has to be his durability.

I mean, come on - 46 overs? Flintoff bowled more overs than that in one innings against Sri Lanka.

Don't be too eager to rush him back in before he's done the yards.

Dello wrote:The final proving point, though, has to be his durability.

Agreed, but when is that point? 200 overs? End of the season?

Jones just might be one of those bowlers who is never regularly fit.

I guess Cardiff 1st test, 2009 must be a bloody big carrot for the lad...

I don't know, but one long innings' worth of overs is a bit light.

See if he can put together three or four FC games on the spin.

Decent article on Jones'
http://www.birminghampost.net/midlands-birmingham-sport/west-midlands-sports/cricket-news/2008/05/30/simon-jones-long-road-back-should-not-be-rushed-65233-21001900/

Worcs are going to have Jones and Fidel Edwards steaming in when the current Windies season finishes.

That is going to be a hell of a site considering Fidel's current form and Jones class and need to prove himself. I have always associated the county with medium pace swing bowling, but that will be out of the window this season.

WIFAN wrote:Worcs are going to have Jones and Fidel Edwards steaming in when the current Windies season finishes.

That is going to be a hell of a site considering Fidel's current form and Jones class and need to prove himself. I have always associated the county with medium pace swing bowling, but that will be out of the window this season.

On the basis of my, admittedly limited, experience this season, the pitch appears to have a bit more pace in it than is usually the case. Edwards and Jones bowling together is a mouthwatering prospect. That's not to say Magoffin hasn't done a decent job as overseas player - he's done everything required of him.

England can't afford to leave out a bowler of his quality if he's currently fit and firing. It's why I wanted to see him picked in England's ODI squad to face NZ. Why waste him in second division county cricket for a whole season in order to prove that he's fit? If he gets through the whole season injury free, don't you think we'd be wishing he'd played most of that season against South Africa?

Australia and New Zealand never left Jason Gillespie and Shane Bond loitering around domestic cricket when they were fit. They knew they had 2 bowlers who, although injury prone, were genuinely world class, and that international cricket was where they belonged.

Jones is one of those players who is almost guaranteed to pick up some sort of niggle every 3-4 months. Lets use him whilst he's at his best rather than watching Jimmikins and co getting smashed by Smith and Kallis before thinking,"I wish we'd picked Jonah".

Fair point, well made but one requiring common sense, a bit of courage, and a willingness to disrupt the cosy status quo by those selecting the side . . . so don't hold your breath.

Do the Saffers play a Lions game before the series proper starts? Might be an ideal opportunity to put Jones through his paces if they do.

Big_Bad_Bob wrote:Fair point, well made but one requiring common sense, a bit of courage, and a willingness to disrupt the cosy status quo by those selecting the side . . . so don't hold your breath.

Then again, they would take any opportunity to play a 2005 Ashes winner ahead of an "outsider" wouldn't they?

My money would be on him appearing in the 3rd or 4th Test against SA after our bowlers (well Anderson at least) have been taken apart in the first two. That's if he doesn't get injured again before that.

Aye, it wouldn't be unlike our selectors to panic after our test side is getting smashed would it?

Maybe the cardiff test should be the aim? WI & IND decks in the winter are hardly ideal conditions for a comeback.

I don't believe our selectors have the balls to make his comeback test an Ashes one though so possibly a touring spot this winter if all has gone well...

Dello wrote:

I mean, come on - 46 overs?

Don't be too eager to rush him back in before he's done the yards.

Just looked up Freds stats...

he's bowled 74 overs this season in FC cricket and they would have picked him for the Lords test but for the back strain.

Granted though, Jones has been injured for longer.

Thinking it through, I'm not sure Jones fully deserves his 'fragile' tag.

An outrageous claim, perhaps, but bear with me for a moment.

The horrific Brisbane injury was nothing to do with his bowling or physique or fitness at all - just a sad accident.

He was then reasonably fir, bar a few niggles, upon his return, but wasn't always favoured to to other bowlers (which seems ludicrous, now, I suppose). During the ashes, I remember Holding doing a piece where he analysed all of our fast bowler's actions for propensity to injury. I distinctly remember him highlighting Jones's other knee as a potential problem, as he was letting it do too much work to spare the knee he wrecked so badly - probably subconsciously. Sure enough, come India, it went ping, and that's where the current bout of injury has come from.

There was also the bone spur, but that only kept him out for a few months.

Considering he's a really fit and strong bloke, I think he's just been unlucky rather than people like Bond and Tremlett who always seem to have either one thing or the other wrong with them rather than being able to put it down to a single accident.

I think you might have your injuries mixed up, Winkle. I thought his injury in the Ashes and in the India series were ankle injuries, not his other knee.

India was definitely, the knee. I remember watching him bowling in the nets on sky news when they were reporting the injury and it just went. It made my teeth itch.

The ashes injury is, admittedly, a hole in my theory, but any rule has exceptions. I bet there's not a single fast bolwer in world cricket today who hasn't spent a few months out with injury.