All change please

It is unusual to accuse any sportsman under the age of 30 of being a resident of the last chance saloon. Yet for two former England players who both today left the county which reared them it seems fitting. The reasons for the continual absecne of Simon Jones and Rikki Clarke from the international scene are, of course, polar opposites; however, both find themselves in the same situation as regards their future - a hard road with only a small chance of reward at the end.

Clarke, announced today as the new Derbyshire captain, has been living in a comfort zone at The Oval for a few years now, not the first promising player from that club to fall into such a trap in recent times. Ever since his first taste of international cricket in 2003, he has failed to make a realistic claim for a regular spot with domestic runs and wickets, and his chances have generally come when the selectors have been raking up the dregs to make up numbers in the one-day side. With Andrew Flintoff now absent and possibly never to return, the need for a pace-bowling all-rounder is keenly felt; but the call comes at possibly Clarke's lowest ebb - last term his runs came at less than 25, the wickets at over 40. From stand-in captain in the opening game, he first slipped down the averages, and then out of the team, as old attitude problems began to flare up and a move away from Surrey has been forecasted since mid-season. He is still only 26, and the chance to both captain and act the role of star player is a wonderful opportunity for Clarke to realise his multi-faceted talent and make his pitch for a role in a future without Flintoff if that should arise. Peter Moores has shown his willingness to select those who impress at county level; Derbyshire have shown faith in his cricketing skill and a personality which has been questioned on more than one occasion. Now Clarke must fulfil his side of the bargain and bring home the bacon; he owes it to his new county, and in truth he owes it to himself and the potential which is a few wrong steps away from being perpetually unfulfilled.

When Simon Jones made his England debut five summers ago, in the same series as Steve Harmison, it seemed to herald a new era in English pace bowling. He picked up 4 wickets in his first Test, not before he had blasted a quickfire 40 as a warm-up. He was still, to use the technical term, "wild and wooly", but had all the attributes to be a top fast bowler, foremost the ability to bowl at a genuinely express pace. But that same winter, the world which had appeared to be at his feet came crashing down about his ears, as he snapped cruciate ligaments in Brisbane having just picked up his first Ashes wicket. It looked career threatening, but Jones pulled through, and was finally rehabilitated on the 2004 tour of the Caribbean, as England triumphed 3-0, and the fast bowling quartet which was to be the basis for a perfect year was born. Progress thereafter was somewhat stilted; he did not hold down a place in the return series that summer, and has a largely miserable tour of South Africa with Michael Vaughan seemingly unwilling to bowl him for extended periods. As the Ashes series loomed, he was definitely regarded as the weak link in England's attack. No-one, English or Australian, could have predicted the magnitude of that series or indeed Jones' significant contribution in it. He was the creator of so many great moments in a contest littered with them, the best perhaps a massive hooping reverse-swinger to which Michael Clarke shouldered arms to give those watching the best view of his off-stump being uprooted. Cruelly, in the middle of being architect for Australia's demise at Trent Bridge, and handed the new ball for the first time, his ankle gave way. He did not bowl again in that Test, although at the time it was hoped he would recover for the decider. 26 months later, and that is still his last match for England. His ankle problem mutated into a knee injury which kept him out until the beginning of 2007, with attempts to rush him back just leading to setbacks. The season just gone was supposed to be a renaissance one for Jones; as it turned out, he picked up just one wicket in Championship cricket in 89 overs of bowling. His knee would not let him alone to bowl; by all accounts, he did not look fit even when he turned out, and had none of the zip which knocked over 17 Australian wickets in 2005. Now he has turned his back on Glamorgan, and been offered refuge by Worcestershire. Perhaps a move away from the county which is his home in every sense is the best thing for Jones now, although his chances of a full recovery seem negligible. He will take comfort from the progress of Michael Vaughan, who recovered from a similarly low ebb in summer 2006 to play a full programme of Tests the next year. And while there is a long queue of prospective Test seamers, the positions are not nailed down; there is still a place for a fully fit Jones if he can recapture his best. But that is several galaxies away as we stand; hopefully he will be able to use the winter to work on the knee and at least get some overs behind him next season. For unlike Clarke, there is only so much that he can do.