Now his career is in jeopardy following a serious injury to his right knee in the opening Ashes confrontation Down Under.

The Welshman faces at least six months on the sidelines once he has undergone reconstructive surgery on ruptured cruciate ligaments, followed by what is sure to be a gentle re-introduction to the game.

And there is no guarantee he will fully recover, certainly to the degree that he will be able to put his body under the stress and strain usually demanded of an out-and-out fast bowler.

But physiotherapist Kirk Russell believes the 23-year-old Glamorgan star will be back as good as ever following an operation back in the United Kingdom.

"Surgery is fantastic these days and so is rehabilitation," said Russell. "I am sure he will be back as good as new."

David 'Syd' Lawrence, on the other hand, was not so lucky, even with the intervention of modern medicine.

A broken knee cap brought his England career to a juddering and sickening halt - as those who heard his blood-curdling screams on the 1991/2 tour to New Zealand will testify.

Lawrence, who was in mid-delivery when his knee gave way, showed real guts in attempting to bowl at the top level again.

But a second fracture ensured he would never trouble the world's leading batsmen again.

With Darren Gough's future also under threat from a knee injury, and Andrew Caddick in the twilight of his career, England were looking to the likes of Jones to spearhead their attack.

What's more, Jones was tipped to blossom into a bowler who possessed that rare commodity of both pace and venom, a player who could really shake up the opposition batsmen.

As England coach Duncan Fletcher mused: "We believed he was the sort of bowler who could do something for us."

Not since Bob Willis have England been blessed with a fearsome fast bowler, although Norman Cowans, Devon Malcolm and Dean Headley all threatened to fill that role in the past.

Now, with Jones cruelly sidelined, the search must begin afresh.