Simon Jones set to return for Glamorgan

Simon Jones is all set to return to competitive cricket for the first time since recovering from his knee injury, when his county side Glamorgan take on Northamptonshire in a pre-season friendly on Thursday.

Jones, one of the recipients of the prestigious Wisden Cricketer of the Year Award at the Wisden 2006 launch on Tuesday, said he was raring to go after pulling out of the winter tour of India midway.

"We've got a friendly at Northampton, and I'm fit and hoping to go there," Jones told Sportinglife.com. "I've done a lot of hard work over the winter and I'm really looking forward to the first match."

Jones, one of the star performers during last year's Ashes series, has missed plenty of cricket due to his recurring injury problems. He pulled out of the Ashes decider at The Oval last September due to an ankle injury, which subsequently ruled him out of the Pakistan tour. His participation in the India tour was unfortunately cut short after playing the first warm-up game at Mumbai, when he twisted his knee during a net session at Nagpur before the first Test.