Jones 'desperate' to stay at Worcestershire

Simon Jones is an anxious man as he waits to find out his fate with Worcestershire. Jones is out of contract at the end of this season and despite a long list of injuries he has said he is "desperate" to stay with the county.

Jones, who has been dogged by injury since he was forced to miss the final Test of the 2005 Ashes series, underwent surgery on his knee in April and at the time it was expected he would be able to play the second half of the summer. Then in June the results of scans delivered further bad news that Jones was out for the season.

While Worcestershire said last month that the focus was on his recovery, Jones is desperate to be given more time to prove his worth. "I still haven't heard anything. The club have got to think about what they want to do and, whatever that is, there is nothing I can do about it," he said. "It is a bit of a waiting game which is a little bit frustrating.

"It is not a very nice situation to be in. You'd rather know one way or another but at the end of the day it is the club's decision and I've got to wait and see. At the end of the day I have just got to be patient and I hope it works in my favour because I am desperate to stay at Worcester. I love the changing room and the lads and everyone around it. I think it is a fantastic place to play."

Jones, 30, was confident of returning for the 2010 season. "I am so confident at the moment at the way the winter is going to go. I know I will be fit next year," he said. "It is a definite thing. It is one of those things. I've just got to prove my fitness and I know I will and hopefully things will work in my favour.

"I need a bit of luck. It has been a bad couple of years. I thought things had changed last year. I got 42 wickets for nothing really in the championship. I just want to play the game I love without waking up in the morning thinking I've got to have a concoction of painkillers."