Jones Leaves England Squad 18 Jun 2005 By: Richard Twyman

Simon Jones has opted out of the England squad for the remainder of the NatWest Series despite getting the all clear from his scan yesterday.

Jones took the decision after he was only able to make a small contribution in the team training session this morning at Bristol. Jones will instead now use the extra time to allow his knee to recover fully before the Ashes campaign starts later in the summer.

With Jones dropping out of the team the England management have decided to draft in the promising seamer Chris Tremlett of Hampshire as cover. Tremlett will travel this afternoon to meet up with his teammates in Bristol ahead of the ODI with Australia on Sunday.

With Jones departing England are now almost certain to keep the same side that beat Bangladesh so convincingly at the Oval on Thursday, the only possible change could be the introduction of a spinner with the Bristol ground being suited to the slower bowlers.