Former England pacer Simon Jones believes Ashley Giles is due more credit for the role he played in their famous Ashes triumph in 2005.
England’s Ashes charge that year was driven by the pace quartet, with Andrew Flintoff’s 24 wickets in the series being complemented by Jones (18), Steve Harmison (17) and Matthew Hoggard (16).
Giles, with his left-arm spin, claimed 10 wickets that series, but Jones has said he should be heralded more for his other contributions.
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“We had four quicks and Gilo … and that guy, right, it really annoys me that he doesn’t get the credit he deserves from that series,” Jones said in The Broken Trophy podcast. “He was unbelievable.
“He held an end up, and let us rest. He took some amazing catches, he got some serious runs. It winds me up when people jump on the bandwagon and have a dip at him, saying whatever they call him. I don’t like that. He was a guy that kept us going. If he wasn’t there, three-four of us, couldn’t have done our jobs.
“Simon Jones for me, if he could have stayed fit with his knee and the thing in Brisbane didn’t happen, he could have been Jimmy Anderson.”https://t.co/1iKIpQTMIq
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) May 12, 2020
“He’d give us the rest that we needed. We’d complement each other. There was me, Harmison, Fred bowing 80-plus [mph]. Hoggy bowls 80-85, swung around corners. Fred and Harmy are slightly taller than me, they’ve got the bounce. Fred reversed it, but didn’t really swing it. And we’d just complement each other.
“I put that down to Vaughan and Fletch, for picking that side. Honestly, a pair of geniuses.”
