Jones: Fully fit and firing for Worcestershire
Simon Jones moved a step closer to a return to international cricket after he was named in England's 30-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Worcestershire seamer has not played at the highest level since the fourth Ashes Test against Australia in 2005 due to a string of injuries.
Back in action and performing well for his new county, Jones has been included in the preliminary list of players to take part in the tournament in Pakistan this September.
The selectors have named five new faces, the one major surprise being Nottinghamshire seamer Darren Pattinson, who was born in Grimsby but raised Down Under.
His county colleague Samit Patel is also included for the first time, making it a total of five players from Trent Bridge alongside the more established one-day trio of Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann.
Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry, Kent off-spinning all-rounder James Tredwell, who was part of the one-day squad for the tour of New Zealand but did not play, and Durham seamer Graeme Onions are the other uncapped players.
Wicketkeepers Matt Prior and Phil Mustard, who lost his place in the one-day team to Tim Ambrose for the recent NatWest Series against the Black Caps, are both selected along with all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.
England will name their final 15-man squad for the competition on August 11. They kick-off their campaign against Sri Lanka in Karachi on September 14.
"Although the 30-man ICC Champions Trophy squad is extensive it contains some exceptional talent and a strong mix of youth and experience", stated National selector Geoff Miller.
"The ICC Champions Trophy will give us the chance to test our One-Day International side against the best in the world and I know the players will be looking forward to the challenge of improving our current ODI ranking.
"We will continue to monitor performance in the lead up to narrowing the squad to a final number of 15."
England's 30-man ICC Champions Trophy Squad:
Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Simon Jones (Worcestershire), Ed Joyce (Middlesex), Robert Key (Kent), Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Phil Mustard (Durham), Graham Onions (Durham), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Darren Pattinson (Nottinghamshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Matt Prior (Sussex), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire, James Tredwell (Kent), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

South Africa v Zimbabwe - Smith
South Africa v Zimbabwe - Taibu
India v Australia - Ponting
India v Australia - MS Dhoni
Flintoff extends county contract
India v Australia 5th ODI - Dhoni
India v Australia 5th ODI - Tendulkar
India v Australia 5th ODI - Ponting
| Fixture |
|---|
| Sunday 8th November |
| One Day Int First Match |
| South Africa vs Zimbabwe |
| One Day Int Sixth Match |
| India vs Australia |
| Tour Match One Day Match |
| vs England |
| Monday 9th November |
| One Day Int Third Match |
| Pakistan vs New Zealand |
| Women's T20 Int First Women's Twenty20 International |
| West Indies Women vs England Women |
| Tuesday 10th November |
| One Day Int Second Match |
| South Africa vs Zimbabwe |
| Tour Match One Day Match |
| South Africa A vs England |
| Women's T20 Int Second Women's Twenty20 International |
| West Indies Women vs England Women |
| Wednesday 11th November |
| One Day Int Seventh Match |
| India vs Australia |
| Thursday 12th November |
| Int Twenty20 First Match |
| Pakistan vs New Zealand |
| Result |
|---|
| Saturday 7th November |
| Women's One Day International Series |
| West Indies Women vs England Women West Indies Women won by 1 wickets. |
| Friday 6th November |
| One Day International Series |
| Pakistan vs New Zealand New Zealand won by 64 runs. |
| Tour Match |
| Diamond Eagles vs England XI England won by 185 runs. |
| Women's One Day International Series |
| West Indies Women vs England Women England Women won by 13 runs. |
| Thursday 5th November |
| One Day International Series |
| Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe Bangladesh won by 1 wickets. |
| India vs Australia Australia won by 3 runs. |
| Wednesday 4th November |
| Under 19 One Day International Series |
| Bangladesh Under 19 vs England Under 19 Bangladesh Under 19 won by 8 runs. |
| Women's One Day International Series |
| West Indies Women vs England Women West Indies Women won by 40 runs. |
| Tuesday 3rd November |
| One Day International Series |
| Pakistan vs New Zealand Pakistan won by 138 runs. |
| Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe Bangladesh won by 6 wickets. |
Andy Flower talks about his early ties to South Africa as England prepare to take on the Proteas.
Winning the Ashes has raised the stakes for Andrew Strauss in South Africa this winter, says Michael Vaughan.
Yuvraj Singh has closed the gap on Sky Sports International Sixes League leader Chris Gayle.
Joe Denly paid tribute to Andrew Strauss after both openers enjoyed a productive day in England's win over the Warriors.
Skipper Andrew Strauss hit an unbeaten 117 as England cruised to an eight-wicket win over the Warriors in Kimberley.
Australia cruised to a six-wicket win in the sixth One Day International to take an unassailable 4-2 lead in the seven-match series.
Tatenda Taibu's century failed to prevent Zimbabwe slipping to a 45-run defeat against South Africa in the first one-day international.
New Zealand are hoping to have a new coach in place by the end of the year with several leading names in the frame.
Comments (6)
Ben Naylor says...
No Joe Denly? Shame and no Hildreth.
Posted 16:02 3rd July 2008
Ian Ashworth says...
I find it absolutely astounding that David Sales isn't considered one of the best 30 limited overs players in the country. England can't find a decent squad of 14 players, yet arguably the best currentl player never to have received international recognition is overlooked in favour of flavour of the month players from Test ground counties, or players who are clearly short of the mark. Plunkett, Pattinson, Patel, Mahmood, Joyce should be nowhere near an England squad, but conveniently all play for more fashionable counties. I shouldn't be surprised though - Sales has snubbed Ashley "Being An England Selector Doesn't Conflict With Being Bears Boss, Honest" Giles' Warwickshire poaching attempt.
Posted 15:02 3rd July 2008
Adam Ray says...
Finally the selectors see the hard work and dedication Simon Jones has put in on his comeback. I just hope they pick a man of his talent for our test and ODI teams. I also like the fact they have not overlooked Matt Prior again. I think the last 15 will/should look as follows: Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Flintoff, Broad, Shah, Prior, Mustard, Tredwell, Swann, Anderson, Bopara, Wright
Posted 14:33 3rd July 2008
Jack Alletson says...
With the same old faces for ICC Champions Trophy England will get the same result as against New Zealand. They are sterile and out of step in key areas. A strong attacking opener (remember Trescothick) is an essential. Bell, Cook, Strauss are too predictable and weak in ODI's. Vaughan is so out of touch with his batting that there must be a question mark there. Ambrose should never bat below number 12, and his keeping is not much better than Prior's. Mustard can solve some of the problems. We also need RELIABLE bowlers who can bowl tight at the start and also have the nouse to bowl at the death. What a pity Gough is not 10 years younger? I would also sack the current fielding coach because the results there are abysmal. A team with Sidebottom, Peiterson, Tremlett, Panesar, and Shah is always going to leak runs. Easy to criticise who have we left. My team would be Mustard, Vaughan, Napier (Essex), Peiterson, Bopara, Collingwood, Flintoff, Mascarenha, Swann, Broad, Jones Even if they lost they would go down fighting and give the spectators some entertainment rather than make us cringe every match. Regards
Posted 13:27 3rd July 2008
David Garside says...
I think that is good squad im Dissapointed with G.Jones(kent) not being in the squad and im happy with the chance T.Bresnan(yorkshire) has been given he has been playing well for yorkshire 1st team.
Posted 13:17 3rd July 2008
Andrew Parkinson says...
So glad to see jonesy back hes been on top form for worcestershire.Ambrose has gotta go poor one day player not a bad test player but id rather matt prior brilliant batsmen needs to improve with his glove work.Good to see the selectors picking some new faces for the champions trophy hopefully they will keep them for september.COME ON ENGLAND
Posted 13:08 3rd July 2008