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LONDON, July 21: England’s chairman of selectors David Graveney said Glamorgan quick Simon Jones would make his Test debut against India at Lord’s on Thursday if first-choice spearhead Darren Gough failed to prove his fitness.
Yorkshire quick Gough is currently playing his first championship match of the season against his county’s arch-rivals Lancashire, having so far been restricted to one-day games as he battles to overcome a knee injury.
And England are determined not to go into a five-day match with anything less than a fully fit bowling attack confronting the powerful Indian batting line-up in the opening encounter of a four Test series.
“If Darren Gough doesn’t come through his match at Headingley he (Jones) will definitely be playing at Lord’s,” said Graveney on Sunday.
Jones, 23, is the son of former Glamorgan and England fast bowler Jeff who played 15 Tests between 1964-1968.
COOK BACKS CRAWLEY
Former South Africa batsman Jimmy Cook insisted Sunday John Crawley’s best days as a Test cricketer were still in front of him.
Crawley, 30, was recalled to England’s squad for Thursday’s first Test against India after opening batsman Marcus Trescothick sustained a fractured thumb while fielding in a county match.
Crawley made scores of 31 and 41 not out during England’s first Test draw against Sri Lanka at Lord’s earlier this season when the selectors opted for the insurance of an extra batsman but was discarded for the two victories that followed at Edgbaston and Old Trafford.
Once hailed as one of England’s brightest prospects, Crawley’s Test career has so far failed to scale the heights predicted for him.
In a stop-start 30 Tests, Crawley has made 1,401 runs at a below par 32.58, with three hundreds.—AFP
