Cricket: England End Jones' Year of Discontent

Simon Jones was finally released from the most torturous year of his life yesterday when England confirmed that he would join their Test party for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies. England fly to the Caribbean tomorrow, with Jones, the Glamorgan fast bowler, expected to join them by the end of the week now that he has proved his fitness on the Academy's tour of India.

The Indian town of Gurgaon, in the northern state of Haryana, was not the first place he would have chosen to toast the end of 14 months' sweat and toil - reports suggest that he has not taken to India's charms naturally - but confirmation that his Test career is about to enter its second phase will have been sweet.

It was November 7 2002 when Jones, billed as potentially one of the fastest bowlers Britain has produced, ruptured a cruciate ligament in his right knee attempting a sliding stop in the field in his first overseas Test against Australia in Brisbane.

Had it been his left knee, which takes the bulk of the strain, his Test career might have been finished. Instead he was in plaster for six weeks and lost two stone, and it took nine months of rehabilitation before he made a tentative return for Glamorgan seconds against Lancashire at Panteg in August.

But Jones, nicknamed Racehorse, trained on at the Academy in Loughborough and his 10 for 88 in Chennai in the opening four-day match of the tour, against Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, when he again began to touch speeds of 90mph, convinced the Academy director Rod Marsh that he was ready to return.

"When the ball starts to get old, that's when he wants to bowl very fast, and any team can use a bowler of that nature," Marsh said. "I'd like to think he's going to do very well."

The announcement of Jones's recall coincided, perversely, with his least impressive moments of the tour, his 3.1 overs against South Zone costing 34.

Jones's presence in the Caribbean will be a huge fillip for England, whose fast-bowling attack has many concerns: the resilience, or otherwise, of Steve Harmison, the form of James Anderson, the workload endured by Andrew Flintoff.

David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said: "Simon is now fully recovered from injury and Rod Marsh has been pleased with his progress on the A squad's tour of India. He has worked hard on building up his fitness over the winter and I'm sure that his wicket-taking capabilities will be a real asset in the Caribbean."

Jones Mk2 will ultimately have several questions, other than fitness, to answer. Is his run-up, trimmed at one point to as few as six paces, now settled at 15? Has a tendency to fall away in his delivery stride, which has made him predominantly an in-slant bowler, been corrected? Other than a bit of stiffness in his knee, however, he is feeling in tip-top condition. For the moment, England will be grateful for that.