Jones made his first-class debut against Oxford UniversityatThe University Parks in late May 1976. Although he made only 10 and 4 from number two in the order,[2]
he was retained for the County Championship match which immediately followed. In this game, now batting at seven, he did no better, making only 11 and 1.[3]
After this, Jones spent a long period out of the first team, returning only in August when he was given a short run but again made no significant scores.
During the 1977 season, Jones played in the First XI more than at any other time, turning out for 14 first-class and six List A games. In late August he finally made his maiden fifty, hitting 65 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.[4]Wisden thought he had made "a steady advance" over the summer,[5]
but statistically his season as a whole was disappointing as he averaged only 16.31 in first-class cricket and 8.80 in the one-day game.
From 1978 to 1980, Jones was in and out of the Worcestershire side, often getting chances but never managing a really big score. Indeed, he was to score only one half-century in 26 first-class games during that period, an innings of 61 against Oxford University in June 1978.[6]
His most eye-catching achievement came in a Second XI match, when he hit a century in each innings versus Somerset II in August 1979.[7]
Jones' career in top-class cricket ended after the 1980 season, and he returned to his family's farm in Shropshire.[8] He played minor counties cricket with Shropshire in 1981 and 1982, and since 2006 he has made numerous appearances for Shropshire's Over-50s team.[9] He has played at club level for Wroxeter.[1]
His brother Bryan Jones made 20 List A appearances for Shropshire and played one Youth Test for England.
^ abPercival, Tony (1999). Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998. A.C.S. Publications, Nottingham. p. 35. ISBN1-902171-17-9.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
