England drop wicketkeeper Jones

July 31, 2006 19:09 IST

England selectors on Monday dropped wicketkeeper Geraint Jones when they named a 12-man squad for the third Test against Pakistan starting on Friday. Nottinghamshire's Chris Read replaces Jones behind the stumps.

The Kent player's omission means Read will return to the Test side for the first time since playing in the first three Tests of England's tour of the Caribbean in 2004.

Chairman of selectors, David Graveney, said: "Geraint has kept very well this summer, but he has been short of runs and the selectors feel that this is the right time to make a change.

"We have taken this decision regardless of the injury

to Geraint's finger.

"The key factor for the selectors was his form with the bat and we believe that he will benefit from having a break from international cricket and spending more time in the middle with his county."

England lead the four-match series 1-0.

Squad: Andrew Strauss (Middlesex (capt), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Stephen Harmison (Durham), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Jon Lewis (Gloucestershire), Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Chris Read (Nottinghamshire), Marcus Trescothick (Somerset).

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

Source:

© Copyright 2025 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.