Cricket: Jones Hopes to Prove Fitness on England A Tour

England's gamble on extreme pace in the Caribbean this spring was put on hold yesterday when Simon Jones was told he would have to prove himself before his name is added to the 15 announced.

Jones has played only two second XI matches for Glamorgan since he ruptured right- knee ligaments in the Brisbane Ashes Test 14 months ago. He had apparently been told he would go to the West Indies but that has now been rescinded after the England selectors delayed announcing the squad for 24 hours.

They wanted time to consult Dr Peter Gregory, the England cricket board's chief medical officer, about Jones's recovery and his recent performances at the national academy in Loughborough where he has been bowling at 80-85mph, short of the speed he was achieving before Brisbane.

Jones will join England A who leave to tour India later this month and could team up with someone who has turned heads at Loughborough, Sajid Mahmood. The 22-year-old former Tesco shelf-stacker, who has played only six first-class games for Lancashire, is said to go over 90mph frequently. It is that kind of pace that England are desperate to take to the Caribbean.

Yesterday Jones, rightly, chose to put the best possible gloss on the selectors' decision. "It's a big thing for me today because I've worked so hard over the last five or six months," he said. "England have been great to me by dangling this carrot. It's up to me to take it."

He said he is fitter than before the injury. "I'm feeling stronger and I've worked a lot more on my legs to build up my strength in the muscles around the knee joint.

"I've also worked on my general fitness, which is probably something I needed to work on, and I've looked at my bowling action and that's coming on really nicely and feels good."

Should things go well in India, Jones will fly to Jamaica for the first Test on March 11 and link up with the 15 men who lost last month's series in Sri Lanka, when the bowling lacked penetration and the batsmen were collectively short of runs.

David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said Richard Johnson was not available because he is due to have an operation on his right knee.

However, the selectors are happy that Steve Harmison, who missed Sri Lanka with back problems, James Anderson, who was plagued with an ankle injury, and Andrew Flintoff, who suffered a recurrence of a long-standing groin problem, are fit to travel to the Caribbean where England have not won a series in 36 years.

England will also be seeking to redress a recent run of form abroad in which they have not beaten quality opposition since the heady days of 2000-01 when they were in Pakistan and Sri Lanka - still the highlight of Duncan Fletcher's tenure as coach.

Since then they have suffered defeats in India, Australia and most recently Sri Lanka and have drawn a series in New Zealand. Their overall record is three victories in their last 11 series.

The remainder of the tour party is as expected and there is only one change to the one-day squad. Vikram Solanki has been dropped after scoring 11 runs in three innings in Bangladesh.

There is a chance Johnson could be fit for the one-day series which begins on April 18. "We will closely monitor his rehabilitation and there is a possibility that he could come into contention for the one-day squad," said Graveney.