Jones: I just want to play

Cardiff University formally recognised the Glamorgan fast bowler's 'sporting achievements', primarily those in the summer of 2005, when he clinically bisected Australian defences time after time to help bring the Ashes home.

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Yet, his hopes of producing a repeat performance against the world champions or anyone else remain in the balance.

This morning, Jones, 28, will scan the skies over Bristol in hope that he can play in a one-day match for his county's second team.

It would be a first competitive outing since June 3 and a small step in the right direction.

But the grand plan for the season has long since been shelved, as his left knee has swollen up repeatedly when pushed to the limit.

He was meant to play for the Wales minor counties side away to Berkshire earlier this week but the ECB prevented him from doing so due to the lack of an on-site physio, suggesting they know all is not as it should be. Given that previous second-team games he was due to play in were washed out, the player who has spent more time in rehab than on the field in recent years is becoming understandably agitated.

"I try to keep thinking, 'Don't expect too much, too soon', but it has been really frustrating as it's a situation I can't do anything about," he said last night. "This is not where I thought I'd be by this stage of the summer. The plan was to play for Glamorgan until mid-season and then push for an England place.

"Peter Moores (the England coach) called me a couple of weeks ago to see how I was getting on and it's nice to still feel wanted, but I've had a couple of down periods recently, thinking, 'Why can't I have a break? Why can't I feel brilliant?'

"I have to adjust my targets. I hope to prove the knee can stand up to four-day cricket, then bowl well enough for Glamorgan to try to earn a tour place. I won't stop trying till my leg falls off."

However, Glamorgan coach Adrian Shaw paints a grim picture of Jones' stop-start return — with just one championship appearance all season.

The prospect of a second four-day outing any time soon depends on the knee taking the strain of long spells, which it has not managed thus far.

"His recovery has not progressed as quickly as we, Simon or the ECB had hoped," said Shaw. "He has constantly felt twinges when he bowls. He has felt OK during one-day matches, but then when he has tried to bowl the next day it has felt more uneasy.

"To say it's one step forward, two steps back wouldn't be far off. It seems totally random. One day it's fine, the next day it will swell up. Oneday cricket is OK because of the limited workload but Simon isn't sure he can bowl lots of overs, day after day."