Injured Jones cannot bear to watch first Ashes Test

The injured England bowler Simon Jones was not watching the first Ashes Test last night because it hurts him too much not to play. The 27-year-old, a key member of the team which regained the Ashes in 2005, has not travelled to Australia because of a knee injury.

"I won't be watching," he said yesterday. "It would be pretty difficult because I want to be there so much. I suppose 'Harmy' [Steve Harmison], 'Fred' [Andrew Flintoff] and 'Gilo' [Ashley Giles] thought the same when they were out injured. It's not the same when you're not involved in the squad, it really hurts.

"I had visions of playing this winter and going through the same emotions I did last summer."