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Jones given chance to prove fitness

January 08, 2004 09:52 IST

Fast bowler Simon Jones must prove his fitness on an A tour of India next month if he is to take part in England's subsequent four-Test tour of West Indies.

Jones has been sidelined for 14 months after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament during the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.

The England selectors left a place open for the Glamorgan paceman on Wednesday when they named an unchanged 15-man squad for the Caribbean tour in March.

Injury-prone pace bowler Richard Johnson has been omitted from the team who lost a three-Test series in Sri Lanka late last year because he requires surgery on his damaged right knee.

"The reports we have had from the National Academy indicate that Simon Jones is making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury," said chairman of selectors David Graveney.

"As Simon has been out of first class cricket for more than a year, we will be closely monitoring his form and fitness on the A tour of India with a view to adding him to the Test squad in the Caribbean."

Fellow fast bowler Steve Harmison has been selected after missing the Sri Lanka series because of a side strain sustained in the prior series against Bangladesh.

Graveney said experienced pace bowler Andrew Caddick had not been considered because he needed to complete rehabilitation after back surgery.

Paul Collingwood retains his position as the sixth specialist batsman, while Ashley Giles and Gareth Batty will provide the spin after Robert Croft's retirement from international cricket.

There is only one change to the 13-man one-day squad for a seven-match series against West Indies in April. Vikram Solanki has been dropped after scoring only 11 runs in three innings in Bangladesh.

England - Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe, Paul Collingwood, Nasser Hussain, Andrew Flintoff, Rikki Clarke, Chris Read, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Gareth Batty, James Anderson, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard.

ODI squad - Vaughan (captain), Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Collingwood, Anthony McGrath, Flintoff, Clarke, Ian Blackwell, Batty, Giles, Read, James Kirtley, Anderson.


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