Gloucestershire Cricket sign Geraint Jones on Loan
Friday 23rd May 2014
Gloucestershire Cricket today announced that they have signed Kent wicketkeeper and former England Test Cricketer, Geraint Jones, on a loan agreement. Jones, 37, will make his Gloucestershire debut in the LV= County Championship Match v Derbyshire on Sunday 25 May. During his stint with Gloucestershire, he will be available for selection in all forms of the game, but won’t be able to play in any match featuring Kent.
Born in Papua New Guinea, of Welsh parents, Jones has kept wicket for Kent for the best part of 13 seasons. He was their resident glove man since making his debut in 2001. Impeccable behind the stumps, and a heavy run scorer, Jones has also enjoyed a thrilling career at the highest level (34 Tests, 49 ODI’s and 2 International T20 appearances for England).
During 2005, he played a vital role at Trent Bridge where he hit 85 and shared a 177-run 6th wicket stand with Andrew Flintoff which laid the foundations for a victory which ultimately saw England reclaim the Ashes. He was awarded an MBE at the end of 2005 after his contributions to winning back the Ashes for England.
Last season, although he found runs a little harder to come by, he still accumulated 403 Championship runs at an average of 23.71. He was also a regular contributor in Kent’s limited overs side. Sharp glove work enabled him to claim 41 first-class victims and he regularly took the captaincy reins in the absence of Kent captain, James Tredwell, whilst he was away on England duty.
Commenting on his signing, Geraint Jones said:
“I am excited for the opportunity that lies ahead for the next four weeks and look forward to contributing to the success of Gloucestershire Cricket whilst I am there.”
Gloucestershire’s Director of Cricket, John Bracewell, added:
“With the knock to Gareth Roderick’s hand – who will be out of cricket up to 5/6 weeks – the pressure to play all forms of the game is taking a physical and mental toll on young Cameron Herring. The selection group have therefore requested assistancein the wicketkeeper/batsman area.
“Geraint will be a great foil for our middle order batting and his experience behind the stumps will be of great value to our fielding and bowling groups.
“This is a vital 4 week period for the club’s season and we must maintain momentum after our last performance against Kent.”