posted Dec 26, 2008

Jones isn't that good. He was fortunate to peak at just the right time - an Ashes series. Precisely the same can be said of Flintoff who's equally not that good but was in the form of his life in 2005.

Simon Jones should retire immediately - his body is not up to fast bowling. Either that or his pain threshold is too low.

Fast bowling hurts - ask Lillee, Botham, Imran or any other quick that's had surgery and had to recover.

It doesn't give me any pleasure to say this but the media always "big up" the players who are sidelined through injury. Fair enough, if Jones comes back and gets selected and takes another 30 Aussie wickets and we win the Ashes back I'll be cheering him on like any other England fan.

However if I were Peter Moores, I'd not even be considering Jones - he's way too much of a risk to play internationally.

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posted Dec 26, 2008

Instead of pining away for Jones, England should invest in developing Finn, Footit and Rashid

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posted Dec 27, 2008

Simon Jones' Test career was over a long time ago. He has basically spent 2 years out of the sport if you look at the time he has been out injured. He'll never be the same bowler again, even if he reaches full fitness for a length of time.

I do disagree with one comment from RobM1974 above - I think Jones was a superb bowler before the serious injuries came along, and England have never really replaced him, hence the ongoing talk about him. People never talked about Dean Headley or Alex Tudor in the same way, because they weren't as good as Simon.

Sadly, I think its time to let it go. I hope Simon Jones can carve out a good County career from the rest of his time in cricket, but there's no future for him with England. We should be looking to develop younger bowlers, as medium-pacer said.

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posted Dec 27, 2008

Sorry subterranean - I can't agree. Jones was nothing more than a flash in the pan. If you take the 2005 ashes (only 4 tests after all) away from his career, you're not left with much - because he scarcely played. As I recall, he played once against the 2002 Indians (and broke down), then had the Brisbane injury, came back against a poor Windies side in 2003-04 where he did well. Again IIRC he played in the Lord's test of 2004 against the Kiwis and was dropped for performance rather than injury. I thought he did quite well on the 2004-05 trip to SA but none of that adds up to "superb" in my opinion.

He had 4 great test matches in 2005 swinging the old ball both ways and defeating the Aussies. I must admit it was the first time I'd seen anyone bowl outswing with the old ball.

But I can't agree that Jones was ever superb.

As for what he should do now - maybe coaching - but his body has shown it can't stand up to county cricket never mind internationals - his last international was 2005 I think and when he's not been injured since he's not kept fit enough to stay in a county team.

Being a Worcestershire fan, I was dismayed to see us pick him up after Glamorgan got fed up with him and it looks sadly as if I'm right - he couldn't manage a season for us and will be in rehab for the first few months of 2009.

As for where we go from here - it's a shame that the "fab four" of Harmison, Flintoff, Hoggard and Jones are past it for various reasons. I think Fred and Harmy can go on for a while but they're both fading. I don't know what state Hoggard's in at the moment but it must be pretty bad because it seems the management think Anderson is the new Hoggard despite the fact that Anderson a) has no clue where the ball's going and b) has no clue how to bowl if the ball's not swinging.

I've seen Finn bowl and while it's very early days for him, he doesn't impress me at all. A lot of coaches around the world seem to be trying to clone Glenn McGrath - which is fine as McGrath was obviously a fine bowler - but it's symptomatic of a bad attitude amongst coaches. Let Finn be Finn (or indeed Plunkett be Plunkett and Mahmood be Mahmood!) and see what happens rather than remodel them I say.

But back to the question - it's a shame for Jones but now at 30 he's not realistically going to convince anyone other than a struggling county side that he's worth investment.

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posted Dec 27, 2008

simon jones is the best fast bowler in the country at the moment and will be the best fast bowler in the world

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posted Dec 27, 2008

Quite right. And Gordon Brown will win the next series of Strictly Come Dancing ...

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posted Dec 28, 2008

I can perfectly understand people wishing for the return of SJ. England have an array of OK bowlers by which I mean guys who average mid 30s in tests. However, the really successful teams in the history of test match cricket have a clutch of bowlers avareging under 30 - and typically at least two around 25 or less. The difference gets exposed when you come up against good batters like the Aussies are. Suddenly, you find that the attack can be worn out and/or taken apart. For England avoiding that is partly about developing clever plans but its also about the 'maybe factor' - whether guys who could do the job are fit and will come to the party. Where do England get an incisive edge apart from Freddie? Maybe Anderson's recent development in test matches will translate..Maybe Sidebottom will be fit and firing..Maybe the potential of Broad will start translating into more wickets..Maybe Harmison will be the best he can be..It is perfectly normal to have doubts about some or all of these possibilities. That is why SJs proven incisive edge and performing attitude - would be worth taking a punt on if he has strung a few decent performances together.


nearly all their bowlers averaging shows you generally need a minimum of two to do really well. ou don't defeat quality opposition with an array of reasonable bowlers. The most successful teams in cricket history had at least two ve won largely off the beck of having a minimum of two top . You defeat them by mixing in enough high quality bowlers. AUS not

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posted Dec 28, 2008

goforjugular I'm not sure what your last paragraph meant but I think you're suggesting that Jones has what's inanely called "the X Factor" nowadays. And in some respects I agree - to reverse swing the ball at close to 90mph is a great attribute to have - Waqar and Wasim certainly profited from that ability.

The problem is substitutes are not allowed to bowl and as we've seen countless times when a bowler gets injured during a match - the captain has nowhere to turn to. People forget (because we won) just what a perilous position Jones put Vaughan in at Trent Bridge in 2005. Jones could only manage 5 overs in the 2nd inns before limping off. Fortunately the other 3 came to the party but for Jones to be fit one minute and out for the season the next is way too much of a risk.

His track record for injury is sadly pathetic - something like 20 tests in seven years and even when he's played - twice he's been off the field. The guy is too risky to play. Admittedly if fit he might just win us the ashes - but the likelihood is that he'd break down which would cost us the ashes.

Jones is gone - let's move on.

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posted Dec 28, 2008

RobM1974

Absolutely right - excellent posts - let's wish Jones well( his dad had similar probs and retired early) but life moves on.

Unfortunately that's part of sport and life - I gave up saying 'if only' a long time ago....

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posted Jan 1, 2009

SJ will be fit for the start of the league season. For sure. His injuries over the last two years all are as a result of his notorius knee injury. His posture naturally changed to accomodate the injury and this has induced strain on other areas. He is working to regain his original posture and revert to his normal actions. This is progressing well and is intended to produce a more consistant performance. Anyone who knows or has met him will understand just how serious he is about playing international cricket again. Given the selectors interest in his performance last season, it seems reasonable to suggest that he is realistic in his hopes as are the club and those currently helping him. As for the retirement comments, well they are wide of the mark!

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