Jones aiming for Glamorgan four-day role

By Richard Thomas

Former England Ashes hero Simon Jones says he is ready to play more four-day cricket for Glamorgan next season.

When Jones, 34 on Christmas Day, returned to his native county last season from Hampshire it was primarily as a one-day player. Jones, who starred for England in their Ashes series win against Australia in 2005, did play in one LV County Championship game last season but now he wants to figure in more first-class cricket.

“I played in one four-day game against Derbyshire and enjoyed it – I’ve trained hard over recent weeks and my body feels good,” said Jones. “I’ve told Motty (Glamorgan’s head of elite performance Matthew Mott) that I am raring to go and am available for selection for four-day matches in 2013.”

Glamorgan, meanwhile, have extended batsman Chris Cooke’s contract until the end of the 2014 season. Like Jones, South African-born Cooke wants to play more four-day cricket after being seen as a Twenty20 specialist.

Cooke, 26, made a stunning debut for Glamorgan in the 2011 Friends Life t20 competition against Middlesex when he struck his second, third and fourth deliveries for the club for sixes. Last season Cooke hit a career-best 137 not out against Somerset in a Clydesdale Bank 40 fixture at Taunton.

“Chris has made a positive impact during his short career with Glamorgan. Having established himself in our one-day sides, we look forward to working with him to continue to develop his career as he pushes for inclusion in our four-day team,” said Mott.

“Over the past few months, we have also been working closely with Simon Jones – he’s in great shape and he is keen to play in more four-day games next season too. Being able to expose high impact players such as Simon and Chris to four-day cricket will provide a massive boost to our Championship campaign.

“We have a competitive squad with a good balance of experienced and talented young players - we have every reason to look forward to the 2013 season with increased confidence.”


 

Date: 10/12/2012 11:15:08 by Richard Thomas
In: Today | Glamorgan |