On 8 September 2022, England's captain Nat Sciver announced that she decided to withdraw from their home white ball series against India "to focus on her mental health and well being".[3] In her absence, Jones was named as England's captain for the WT20I and WODI series.[4]
Early life and career
Jones was born in Solihull, West Midlands,[5] and raised in nearby Sutton Coldfield,[6] where she attended John Willmott School.[7] Her first experience of organised sport was playing on a boys' football team for Aston Villa; she then joined Walmley Cricket Club and rose rapidly through the ranks. She has since commented:
"Some of my mates played cricket at the local club and I went down there. They had a girls' team and a successful ladies' team which wasn't common at the time. So, I was lucky and it was quite straightforward. They had good links with Warwickshire and I had a trial at Edgbaston at 13 and I went on from there."[8]
While still in her mid-teens, Jones represented the Warwickshire Academy and began to be selected for England Development and Academy programmes.[5] In 2011, when she was 18, she was called up to the England Women's Academy at Loughborough University. By then, she was an accomplished wicket-keeper, and had already had her keeping assessed on occasional training sessions at the academy. Soon after her callup, she was informed she was to become a full-time member of the academy and deputy to then regular England team wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor.[8]
Career
Jones was the holder of one of the first tranche of 18 ECB central contracts for women players, which were announced in April 2014.[9] In April 2015, Jones was named as one of the England women's Academy squad tour to Dubai, where England women played their Australian counterparts in two 50-over games, and two Twenty20 matches.[10] A member of the 2015 Women's Ashes squad, she played in the one-day matches but was replaced in the squad by Fran Wilson.[11]
In June 2019, the ECB named her in England's squad for their opening match against Australia to contest the Women's Ashes.[18][19] The following month, she was also named in England's Test squad for the one-off match against Australia.[20] She made her Test debut for England against Australia women on 18 July 2019.[21]
Upon the retirement of Sarah Taylor in late 2019, Jones became the first choice wicket-keeper for the England team. By then, she had already kept wicket in 42 of her 80 England matches across all formats.[22] In January 2020, she was named in England's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.[23]
On 18 June 2020, Jones was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[24][25] She featured in all five matches, making a match best score of 55 in the fourth T20I.[26]
Jones is in a relationship with Piepa Cleary, a seam bowler from Australia who plays for the Perth Scorchers. In 2021, after the relationship had been a long-distance one for some years, Cleary relocated to England and started playing for North West Thunder. Jones and Cleary are now both based in Loughborough, Leicestershire.[43] On 23 July 2024, the couple announced their engagement.[citation needed]
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