Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. He later played international cricket for Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2014. He announced his retirement from first-class cricket in July 2015 following his resignation as the first-class cricket captain of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Personal life Jones was born in Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea, and moved to Australia with his parents, who were originally from Wales, soon after he was born. He grew up in Toowoomba where he played in the under 21 team in the annual Spring Street Church cricket match. He went on to play in Brisbane, Queensland, played for the Queensland Colts (Under-21) team, and was awarded the wicketkeeper's trophy for most dismissals in the Brisbane Grade Cricket competition in 1995/96 when he was 19/20. His first club in England was Lydney CC in the Forest of Dean but he returned to live in Australia until he was 22. Upon his return to Britain he played for Clevedon CC. The following season he joined Abergavenny CC and was later appointed captain. Whilst at Abergavenny he trained as a pharmacist. He met his wife whilst playing for Clevedon; the couple has two sons. After retiring, Jones joined Brentwood School as their cricket professional in November 2015. He also worked as a business studies teacher. In 2019 he trained to become a retained firefighter with Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Career Domestic career Jones spent most of his career playing for Kent County Cricket Club. He made his debut for Kent in 2001 after having played Second XI cricket for the side the previous season. He was capped by the side in 2003 and played in more than 380 top-class matches for Kent, making his final appearance for the side in 2013. After losing his place in the Kent side to Sam Billings at the start of the 2014 season, Jones joined Gloucestershire on loan. He was released by Kent at the end of the season, and signed a two-year deal with Gloucestershire in October 2014, but retired after only a year with the club. England career Jones replaced Chris Read as England wicket-keeper during the 2004 tour of the West Indies. Later that year,