SIMON Jones will start bowling for the first time since a knee operation in September during Worcestershire’s pre-season tour of South Africa later this month.

Jones, one of the stars of England’s 2005 Ashes triumph, has made good progress with his rehabilitation work during the winter.

Recent scans gave the County cause for encouragement that Jones will be fit for the start of the new county season in April.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “The surgeon was very pleased with Simon’s progress and he has given him the all-clear to continue his rehab.

“He has worked very hard on his general fitness during the winter but hasn’t started running and bowling yet and he won’t do that until we go off to South Africa.

“The scans were pretty good. They showed that the area that was operated on and where cartilage was replaced has improved, but there are still one or two areas that need to set hard.”

Jones played a major role in Worcestershire gaining promotion to Division One of the LV County Championship with 42 wickets in nine games during his first season at New Road after making the move from Glamorgan.

But Worcestershire will not press Jones back into action until he is ready to return.

Rhodes said: “Simon did a fantastic job last season, stayed fit for most of the season and got named by England in their provisional squad for the ICC Trophy.

“He’s a very valuable bowler and we don’t see the point in rushing things. The main thing is to make sure that he is fit for the start of the season.”

The County will take all their full-time playing staff to South Africa with the exception of Steven Davies, Gareth Batty and Alexei Kervezee as they are on all international duty. Worcestershire fly out to Johannesburg on March 23.

Now that the players are on 12-month contracts, they have had a hard winter’s training in the gym, on the track and in the nets.

Rhodes said: “The purpose of the trip is to get outside in the sunshine, experience cricket in the middle and to practice on the grass.”

The team will have five training days and five matches. They will play a one-day and a two-day match against Durham, while there will be three one-day games against North-West, Strikers and Impala. Meanwhile, Richard Jones has earned himself a new one-year deal at New Road after being told to prove his worth during the winter.

The 22-year-old seamer saw his contract expire last summer and director of cricket Rhodes has been impressed by the way he has conducted himself during pre-season training.