At about the same time that his Somerset team-mates take the field for the start of their final championship match at the County Ground on Wednesday morning, just over half a mile away fast bowler Steffan Jones will be undergoing surgery in the Nuffield Hospital.

The twenty eight year old told me: "The operation is to sort out a long term foot injury that flared up at Millfield in the first match of the season and that I have been struggling with all of the season."

He continued: "I bowled through it, and actually played when I wasn't really fit. Last season I took sixty wickets in the championship, whereas this season I have taken twenty, but I have still taken twenty two compared to twenty nine in the NUL and played five games less."

The Welshman feels that the injuries that Richard Johnson and himself have suffered this year are one of the main reasons why the Cidermen have had such a disappointing season.

He told me: "Last year in the championship `Johnno' and myself bowled over a thousand overs between us and took one hundred and twenty wickets. This year we have probably bowled four hundred overs and taken fifty wickets. It's just been very unfortunate for the club that we have both been injured at the same time."

Looking back over his season he told me: "I'm very very disappointed after all of the hard work that I put in over last winter. It's been a real shambles for me, because it has meant that I have been two yards short of pace. The one high spot in the season was when I played for Wales, but that has got me nowhere with England."

However Steffan isn't downhearted and has already started to plan his fitness programme for the winter.

Before then he will be taking a complete break. He told me: "I'm going to have a rest period until November. My body is telling me that I need a break after ten hard years of non stop work playing cricket and rugby and all of the training."

During his time off Steffan is getting married to his fiancé Alex Kimmins at Bishops Lydeard Church near Taunton on October 12th.

When I spoke to him on Tuesday morning he was trying to make the final arrangements for his honeymoon, which was either going to be in Barbados, or maybe it could be going to Australia to watch the Ashes!

© SOMERSET