Jones Thankful of Quick Recovery from Eye Problem

GERAINT JONES and SAM BILLINGS talk to MARK PENNELL about their contrasting seasons and hears good news from both wicketkeepers…

Every sportsman or woman hopes for a slice of good fortune at some point in their careers, be it to turn around a slump in form or simply to help convert the opportunities that come their way.

Yet, during this season at least, lady luck has been somewhat inequitable with her favours when it comes to Kent’s leading wicketkeepers Sam Billings and Geraint Jones.

While Billings, the 23-year-old rookie, has spent the first half of the season bedding in with the first team and, of late, finding good form, so Jones, the 38-year-old hero of England’s 2005 Ashes triumph, has been fighting Central Serious Retinopathy (CSR), an eye condition that cut short a loan stint at Gloucestershire and left him sidelined for five weeks.

Taking up the tale of two keepers, Jones said: “I got offered the chance to go on loan to Gloucestershire after Gareth Roderick, their keeper, broke his finger for the third time in a year, oddly enough in a game against Kent.

“I’d been helping out Simon Willis with the Kent Second XI and captaining the side, which I was really enjoying, when I got a call during the game against Middlesex at The Mote.

“It was Owen Dawkins, an old mate and the best man at my wedding, who’s now Gloucestershire’s second team coach, asking if I fancied going there to play in all forms for a month or so. I’d been playing well for Kent seconds and felt ready for county cricket again, so I jumped at the chance.”

Jones added: “It was going really well down there, I was keeping well, scoring runs and they were valuing my contributions. In fact, we’d written up the paperwork to stay for another two weeks when this eye problem cropped up.

“We’d had a really hectic schedule and were playing Surrey in the championship. I’d top-scored in the first dig but started to have a problem picking up the flight of the ball when we fielded. Then, when we batted again, I went out in sun glasses because of the glare into my right eye. Then, when I missed six or seven cut shots against Jade Dernbach, I knew something was seriously wrong.”

After seeing specialists in Bristol and London, Jones was diagnosed with CSR, a condition caused by fluid leaking behind the retina of his right eye.

“Because it didn’t come from a blow is sort of snuck up on me and I wasn’t overly worried,” added Jones. “I’m happy to say my body has healed itself and I’m over the worst and back playing again. There’s still a little distortion, but that will go in time and I’ll be pushing for Kent first team selection again.”

On the day Jones made his Second XI comeback match in Canterbury, so Billings was hitting a championship best of 82 not out against Surrey in Guildford, that after snaffling eight catches in his previous four-day start at Grace Road.

Billings said: “I love playing at Guildford. It’s usually a good cricket wicket and the outfield is properly rapid, so as a batter you get full value for your shots.

“I was really happy with the knock and it felt good to get some meaningful runs on the board after a bit of a lean spell in this form of the game.

“It would have been nice to convert it into my first championship hundred but, to be fair, both Riles (Adam Riley) and Charlie Hartley both got really good balls that got them out. Hopefully, I’ll get another chance in the not-too-distant future.”

As for his glovework, Billings said: “This is the most keeping I’ve ever done in a season and it’s now becoming a good test for my fitness. I’m really enjoying it and feel that my game has got more consistent and better as the season’s gone on.

“I’ve worked hard for this opportunity at Kent and I know full well that Geraint is a top-class performer. I know I have to keep my levels high if I’m to keep my spot.

“But I’m looking ahead to the 50-over games now. They’ll be long, energy-sapping days but there will be more opportunity for me to build an innings and that’s exactly what I’ll be aiming to do.”