Test cricketer reinstated 50 years after only cap
Exactly 50 years after his only appearance for England, former batsman Alan
Jones has nally been reinstated as a Test cricketer.
Jones played the rst test of
England’s series against a
Rest of the World XI in 1970, matches that originally carried Test status only to be subsequently downgraded by the International Cricket
Council in 1972. Jones was dismissed for 0 and 5 by Mike Procter and was never called on again, meaning he spent 4■ years stripped of his achievement. The England and Wales Cricket Board has now formally inducted the ■1yearold Jones as cap No. 696. Ongoing lockdown restrictions meant his cap presentation was conducted via video link. “It ts. I’m just waiting for the helmet now!” Jones said after trying on his newly awarded cap. “When they disregarded that full England cap, it did make a dierence...you didn’t feel like you were a fully England player. I had the cap, the blazer, the sweaters, the ties, but then they took away the Test match series and I wasn’t able to wear them. To win an England cap and have it taken away some years later was a huge disappointment.” Jones’ rstclass run tally of 36,049 is the highest of any player not to feature in an Iccsanctioned Test.