Maynard admits Ashes hope

Matthew Maynard hopes a Glamorgan player will play in the next Ashes series in 2009

Glamorgan cricket manager Matthew Maynard hopes Simon Jones will be around to represent the Welsh county in England colours when the Ashes come to Cardiff in 2009.

England are scheduled to play an Ashes Test at Sophia Gardens in just under two years time but Jones may yet find himself at another county, having not committed himself to Glamorgan after his contract recently expired.

Maynard, who played four Tests and 14 one-day internationals for England, admitted he hopes the 28-year-old seamer will still be in the Welsh capital for the visit of the Australians.

“We’d love to have a Glamorgan player involved in the Ashes in 2009,” Maynard told ecb.co.uk.

“Most people would probably say our best chance of that is Simon Jones and that will only be if he signs his contract to stay.

"We very much hope that he will stay and we are doing everything in our powers to do that.

“At this stage it is entirely Simon’s decision and he has a big, big decision to make on his future.

Matthew Maynard thinks Simon Jones can play for England again soon © Getty Images

Buy this photo

“We expect to be able release something in the next 10 days to two weeks, something like that, and everything will be a bit clearer then.”

Jones' pace and use of reverse swing helped him capture 18 wickets in four Ashes Tests in 2005, before he was forced to sit out the final Test at the Brit Oval with an ankle problem.

A string of injuries have followed and he is yet to appear in Test or ODI cricket for England since the fourth match against Australia at Trent Bridge two years ago.

Jones has only featured in 14 games for Glamorgan since but Maynard, who was involved with England in a coaching capacity as England’s assistant coach from September 2004 until May 2007, thinks he can make a return to the international scene.

“He needs to get himself back to full fitness,” Maynard said.

“Everyone at Glamorgan can help him with this - we have (former England physio) Dean Conway with us now and he will help Simon get back to something like his best.

“I think the thing with Simon is that he has obviously had his injury problems and he is massively high profile.

“If he comes back to the regular player, like he was five years ago, who has never had any fitness issues then he can make it back and it would be blow for us to lose him.

“But in terms of getting a player involved in the Ashes unless it is Simon we shouldn’t look too far ahead - if someone comes up and performs well and gets an opportunity then that would be great.

Simon Jones has only played 14 times for Glamorgan since August 2005 © Getty Images

Buy this photo

“Our initial goal is to get Glamorgan competing on the pitch again and if that happens and delivers someone who puts their name in the England frame then it would be fantastic.”

Maynard, who took up the post of cricket manager for Glamorgan in late September, was keen to stress Glamorgan does not just centre around star players and that no players will be singled out for special treatment.

The 41-year-old emphasised that this applied to existing players as well as any players interested in moving to Sophia Gardens.

He said: “It is not just Simon who will make or break Glamorgan next year.

“He would be obviously be a massive loss to potential sponsors but I would not have thought so much in terms of playing because it is not one player that makes a team.

“The team ethic and the team ethos is that we need guys down here who are going to fight.

"We want players who are going work hard to meet the challenges and expecations of playing for Glamorgan.

“Those are the types of individuals we want and if they say ‘we’re not going to join you because Simon’s left’ then perhaps those individuals aren’t quite the characters we need in the first place.”