We're quietly confident Geraint Jones on first Test

Jones was dropped during the summer but coach Duncan Fletcher made an early decision to reinstate him after the team's arrival in Australia.

"It was difficult for him when I found out I was playing [in the Test].

"I felt for him in that regard but we still work out in the gym together. We're basically friends," said Jones.

Interview: England wicket-keeper Geraint Jones

Academy: Keeping basics with Geraint Jones

"When he was included last summer I sent him a text to say good luck. There's nothing personal between us, we know that. It's a selection thing."

Jones admitted he was "a little bit surprised" to learn before the warm-up games against New South Wales and South Australia that he would definitely be playing in Brisbane.

He knows, however, that it is his batting ability rather than his prowess with the gloves which has prompted his recall and he needs to produce a decent score sooner rather than later.

Jones insisted he would not be fazed by having to face the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, having played against them during the 2005 Ashes series, which England won 2-1.

"You've just got to look at that little red ball coming out of the hand.

"You can't think of the person who's letting it go because there are some Test greats there. That's something we did so well in the last Ashes," the 30-year-old added.

Warne, however, believes the decision is one England could come to regret.

"It's surprising they would go back to Jones. I thought they wanted Read back because they wanted their keeper to cling on to everything behind the stumps," he said.

"Jones will be under enormous pressure. It's not me sledging him or anything - he's in the side for his batting not his keeping and we've seen him drop some crucial ones.

"You don't want to be dropping Ponting on half a dozen in the first Test of the series, especially when you've just been brought back into the side. It's good for us that he's playing."