“You have one trial ball…” was coach Rahul Dravid’s response to a request from a Scottish leggie in the nets area before India’s session got underway.
After not getting an opportunity to bowl to the England team, as they preferred facing finger spinners, in the morning session, young Thomas Jones was desperate to roll his arm over and didn’t hesitate one bit in approaching India’s head coach who was overseeing arrangements at that time.
“I went straight to the head coach. I told him about myself, that I came all the way from Ahmedabad and how I wanted to bowl to the India players in the nets. The coach told me you have one trial ball and thankfully my trial ball landed on the spot, had good turn and drift and came Dravid’s response. ‘You are selected,’ he chuckled and allowed me to bowl to India batters,” says Jones after finishing his session.
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The 25–year-old bowled long spells to the likes of Dhruv Jurel, KS Bharat, Mohammed Siraj in the nets and did trouble Jurel quite a few times with the odd one which gripped the surface from the good-length spot.
There were plenty of moments where the young leggie had hands on his head after he landed the ball in the right area and enjoyed bowling to Bharat. Jones had bowled a lot to Bharat in the past during his net bowler days with the Gujarat Titans during the IPL.
“I have bowled a lot to KS Bharat during the IPL days when I was bowling for Gujarat Titans. He is now moving to KKR for the next season and have always enjoyed bowling to him since he plays spin well. Gun player,” says Jones.
Even while bowling, Jones managed to have quick chats with R Ashwin, who was bowling non-stop in the adjacent net. Except Rohit Sharma, the Scottish player, who grew up in Kent, South England, had an opportunity to interact with every Indian player. Jones has had a session with Rohit during the 2023 edition of the IPL but the skipper was busy with his drills and preparations today.
“It was a dream come true for me. I got an opportunity to interact with so many of them. The Indian team was very accommodating and welcoming. It was a different and a great learning experience for me. They all were world class cricketers, a different league all together,” adds Jones.
Meeting “old friend Zak”
More than bowling to India players, the bigger motivation for Jones to come to Rajkot nets was to meet his old friend Zak Crawley. Jones had played a lot of cricket with Crawley during their Kent academy days and he got his old club’s cap signed for his wife as a memento to cherish.
“I was very excited to meet my old friend Zak. We played a lot of cricket together in Kent and it feels so good to see him do well for England. He was sweet enough to sign our old cap with a message for my wife. I am certainly going to keep it as a souvenir now,” says Jones.
The youngster, who is now settled in Ahmedabad after falling in love with a Gujarati girl, drove more than five hours to Rajkot just for the opportunity to bowl to star players. Until last year, he was exploring possibilities of playing First Class cricket for Gujarat but the paper work and eligibility period has prompted him to try his hand in Scotland again.
“I was in touch with GCA officials who advised me to get a OCI card. I did get that but even after getting that, I need to wait five more years before more paper work is sorted and I get an Indian passport. That was going to be too much time so I am going to try my luck in Scotland again and try making their T20 squad. So it’s going to be six months there and six months here. So let’s see how that goes,” says Jones.
The sun was setting and Jones picked up his recovery gun to begin his next adventure – a ten-hour drive. The leggie will now be playing 50-over games against Bermuda’s national cricket team on consecutive days and will be representing the G Force Cricket Academy from Dubai. He couldn’t have asked for better preparations as he got an opportunity to rub shoulders with India’s finest red-ball cricketers on the eve of his next assignment.
“It was a special day… ,” he sums up the eventful day with a big smile.
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