Simon Jones

[wpdavid]

Tbf, that wasn't the direct question.

Indeed. I haven't voted, but I really hope we don't *need* Jones to be fit & firing, otherwise Iwe might as well give up now.

 

[Richard]

Tbf, that wasn't the direct question.

Well... it was the implication if nothing else. "Do England need Jones" suggests to me "would his return make the team worse or not"?

 

[Richard]

Indeed. I haven't voted, but I really hope we don't *need* Jones to be fit & firing, otherwise Iwe might as well give up now.

You too wonder if he will ever play for an extended time again?

 

[wpdavid]

You too wonder if he will ever play for an extended time again?

Yeah, I can't see it happening.
Beyond that, I'd hate to use the word "need" about anyone.

 

[Richard]

Even Andrew Robert Charles Flintoff?

 

[wpdavid]

Even Andrew Robert Charles Flintoff?

Well, I hope we won't need him, not least because I don't see him staying fit enough for much longer. Obviously that means developing a decent 2 or 3 quicks pdq, but you have to hope that we can do something like that.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Even Andrew Robert Charles Flintoff?

When did Gus transfer ownership of his middle names?

 

[Richard]

It's not Gus' middle-names (though obviously they are the same), it's "Jack" Russell's 2 first-names - I was thinking a combination of Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff's skills with bat and ball and Robert Charles "Jack" Russell's with the wicketkeeping gloves might be kinda useful...

Just my idea of a joke, not something I'd expect anyone else to understand, obviously...

 

[wpdavid]

It's not Gus' middle-names (though obviously they are the same), it's "Jack" Russell's 2 first-names - I was thinking a combination of Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff's skills with bat and ball and Robert Charles "Jack" Russell's with the wicketkeeping gloves might be kinda useful...

Just my idea of a joke, not something I'd expect anyone else to understand, obviously...

I'm afraid it floated hamlessly over my head. Sorry.

 

[Prince EWS]

Well, it really depends on your definition of "need."

Do England need Simon Jones to win test matches? No.
Do England need Simon Jones to win more test matches than not? No.
Do England need Simon Jones to be a strong test nation? No.
Do England need Simon Jones to be the best team they can be? Yes, but they also need ten specific other guys - one of which IMO is Chris Read who is quite poor.

Jones is most certainly over-rated in terms of his importance. He is obviously a very capable bowler when he gets it right - but he hasn't displayed anything like the consistency you'd want, and given his injury, any actual improvement he made just before it could well be lost. I honestly don't think he's a significantly better bowler than Harmison or Anderson, although I'd still have him in my best XI.. I just don't think he'd make that much of a difference.

 

[Richard]

I'm afraid it floated hamlessly over my head. Sorry.

Don't worry, I wasn't expecting one person to get it, honestly!

 

[Nishant]

Jones is a key player for england..i mean simon jones btw.....but if the other bowlers like mahmood perform well, it wud be difficult to include simon jones when he is fit.

 

[Nishant]

here's a q for u (dont know if it has been asked b4)....

if steve harmison was to get figures like 3-40, 5-50, 4-60, 6-60 in 4 consecutive matches in domestic cricket , on flat pitches.....would u want him back into the englamd team to face india in july?

 

[Neil Pickup]

Harmison will be in the England team against India in July unless he's injured.

 

[wpdavid]

here's a q for u (dont know if it has been asked b4)....

if steve harmison was to get figures like 3-40, 5-50, 4-60, 6-60 in 4 consecutive matches in domestic cricket , on flat pitches.....would u want him back into the englamd team to face india in july?

Depends. I wouldn't select him against WI, and if the guys picked for that series did well enough then I'd stick with them, whatever Harmy did in the CC.

Unfortunately, Neil's probably right.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Jones is overrated IMO. He bowled sensationally in the first-innings of Old Trafford and Trent Bridge in 2005 and did more than most to win that series, but he hasn't done much else of note except get gifted good figures with ordinary bowling - some of the time.

Equally, you'd be a fool if you didn't wish he'd played instead of the Plunketts of this World...

Pretty much my feelings.

Safe to say that before The Ashes I didn't rate Jones at all, and after it I could definitely see the fuss, but he needed to do it more often.

 

[Richard]

Jones is a key player for england..i mean simon jones btw.....but if the other bowlers like mahmood perform well, it wud be difficult to include simon jones when he is fit.

Well... and... if Jones performs well it'd be difficult to include Mahmood when fit...

If you see what I mean...

 

[Richard]

Depends. I wouldn't select him against WI, and if the guys picked for that series did well enough then I'd stick with them, whatever Harmy did in the CC.

But do you really see the Liams and Sajs of this World doing so? Or the Broads, FTM?

Unfortunately, Neil's probably right.

It's a reality we should accept, as I've said a few times.

 

[Prince EWS]

But do you really see the Liams and Sajs of this World doing so? Or the Broads, FTM?

If Jones is fit, there isn't a need to play Plunkett or Mahmood - even if Harmison isn't picked.

 

[Richard]

Depends. I don't see that going in with a 4-man bowling attack is likely. If you were to do so, obviously, you could just go Hoggard-Jones-Flintoff-MSP, but I think a 5-man attack is much the most likely.

If Jones is fit I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing Liam or Saj in whatever game that is, but if neither play at all in the summer (both injury and poor form are almost inevitable to someone or other, there's even an outside chance of Hoggard suffering from one or the other) I'll be astounded. And Broad, too, TBH, even though he's still absurdly young.