England should give Jones chance to stake Ashes claim

It could be history revisited. Twenty-three-year-old Simon Jones, described the other day by the umpire and former Somerset all-rounder, Graham Burgess, who has also watched Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar at close quarters, as "the fastest bowler in the world", is on the threshold of playing in his first Test this week at Old Trafford.

Jones has the genes to do it. His father, Jeff, bowled fast left-arm over the wicket for England on 15 occasions before tennis elbow cut him short. His son unquestionably has the pace, but, as yet, precious little control to go with it.

It was right not to play him on the slow Edgbaston pitch, although he was in the squad of 14 players chosen for the second Test. The conservatively minded, who will almost certainly include England's captain, Nasser Hussain, may not be convinced that he is ready. None the less, it would surely be a logical and justifiable risk and there is an almost irresistible precedent.

In 1954, Pakistan made their first tour to England and at The Oval in the last of the four Test matches, the selectors, chaired by Harry Altham, brought in the raw-boned 24-year-old, Frank Tyson. He had first played for Northamptonshire in 1952 and was capable of great pace although he had still not taken a hundred first-class wickets.

Pakistan won the match and so drew the series while Tyson took 4 for 35 and 1 for 22 and, as was hoped, made enough of an impression to be picked for that winter's tour to Australia under Len Hutton's captaincy. Tyson, who bowled off an inordinately long run, propelling the ball with an extremely physical slinging action, was immensely strong.

Alan Ross, in his delightful book about the tour, Australia 55, described Tyson's action as "an odd mixture of lope and stutter, beauty and ugliness". You can hardly fail to get the picture.

Tyson was as tough as old boots with stamina and fitness to match. After the first game against a Western Australian Country XI at Bunbury where he was all over the place, he shortened his run and gained something in control. He was in the side for the first Test at Brisbane, Hutton being a strong believer in pace. He then had the chastening experience of taking 1 for 160 in 29 eight-ball overs after Hutton had misguidedly put Australia in to bat.

Tyson, with a helping hand from the old Surrey and England fast bowler, Alf Gover, who was in the press box, then pruned his run up even more drastically which may have cost him a little pace but did wonders for his accuracy. Ten wickets in the second Test in Sydney and nine in the third at Melbourne gave England a 2-1 lead in the series, and half a dozen more in Adelaide where England made sure of the Ashes, was ample testimony to his ability.

After maintaining this more disciplined approach to the job for about two years, his action, coupled with the sand heap on which he had to bowl at Northampton, took their toll. While he departed from first-class cricket in 1960 having taken 766 wickets, that Ashes triumph made sure he was a shooting star whose glow still lingers.

The evidence so far suggests that it is absurd to think that Jones might do the same. Yet he has the raw credentials, the precedent has been set and surely he must be worth a try. He runs in off about 10 paces, getting much of his speed from his shoulders in his delivery stride, but, like Tyson, he must change something in his search for control. He will not be short of advice and, who knows, maybe he should lengthen his run to help his rhythm and give him a better balance in delivery. At any rate, the spotlight is on him and the sooner he is given a go, the less the pressure will be for him.

The former England and Lancashire opening batsman, Graham Fowler, assured me during that staggering Benson & Hedges semi-final at Old Trafford on Friday when, on an utterly lifeless pitch, Warwickshire won by one wicket off the last ball, that the strip for Thursday's Test will have pace and bounce. If that is confirmed, give the ball to Jones and let him weigh anchor.

England's cricket cannot afford to ignore potential shooting stars and, as soon as possible, Jones must be given the chance to show that he is not the damp squib some may think. He might be just the man to make Australia's batsmen jump about all over the place this winter and what a party that would be!