Geraint Jones in 2006

[first change]

220 runs at 13.75.
One contribution of note - 52 against India.
Only one other score above 30.
Shown a real lack of bottle when the pressure is on - today being the perfect example.

England have always had a fine selection of batsmen/keepers to choose from. Does anyone, seriously, still believe he is the best choice.

[Oliver]

The lack of responses to this thread is as eloquent as I would wish.

I think we're all agree then!

Please God, that after the end of Ashley (I always get a game because I'm Michael Vaughan's best mate) Giles, I don't have to start referring to Geraint (I'm one of Freddie Flintoff's drinking partners so I always get a game) Jones.

That would be tiresome. To me currently, he is still Jones the 6o11ocks.

[John]

To some extent I disagree. I agree it should of been Read from the start but I can see the thinking. Read batting during the ICC look like the Read of old. So Fletcher looked at Read and thought I can't afford Read batting badly.
In hindsight Jones has batted badly.

[first change]

It's not really hindsight. If Jones was batting as he did (briefly) at the start of his Test career, I sense most people would support his inclusion as somewhat of a necessary evil. His decline has been long, steady, and desperately disappointing. It is only a string of pretty worthless scores betwen 15 and 20 that has propped his average up. England probably has more talented glove-men than any other country, yet our current keeper is, by some way, the weakest of the major nations.

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by John

Read batting during the ICC look like the Read of old.

One day cricket is a different game.

In my book there should be a different side for either game.

Chris Read should be the Test keeper. Fletcher can have anyone he wants for the one day game.

Strauss, Bell, Hoggard and Read shouldn't play though.

[darksideofthemoon]

I hope we are not picking the Test batting line up for the VB series apart from Pietersen and Collingwood.

Loye
Strauss
Benning
Pietersen
Collingwood
Dalrymple
Read
Tremlett
Broad
Lewis
Anderson

[greg]

I hope that after this series we won't be seeing Jones in an England shirt again and the discussions will just be whether we bypass Read for the younger Davies to let him learn his trade before the next World Cup and ashes contests.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Oliver

Do you just write posts for the sake of it?

Got the wrong end of the stick again Oliver,

I meant that there was very little to choose with the batting between Read and Jones, I really don't know how to put it simpler.

[Harmy's Army]

Jones has scored 63 runs at 12 down under - half of them scored in one innings. The surest confirmation of Fletcher's pig-headedness and nepotism in retaining him for the 3rd test was after he had batted so dismally in the first two matches (other than that one innings) and then got a first ball duck against WA in the tour match while Reid kept well and batted competently for 59.

Sadly for Reid, if by some miracle he is selected for the 4th test, he is on a hiding to nothing with the series already dead (lets assume England aren't going to get 557 or survive 2 days in their 2nd innings). Besides, I can't see him replacing Jones anyway, because it would be humiliating for Fletcher were he to allow Reid a chance and the lad actually scored some runs.

[south beds mikey]

Completely agree. He clearly is not worth his place in the side, ditto Giles