Before his back problems, Jordan looked as if he might become the next Andrew Flintoff – his bowling being both quick and aggressive and his batting delightfully uncomplicated.
If that ambition has been tempered he certainly has it in him to be the next Tim Bresnan, if not a cricketer of his own design.
He qualifies for England through a grandmother and for West Indies through birth.
Indeed, West Indies had been interested in securing his services but perhaps forgot to make another approach once it became likely that his back problem would not compromise him.
Given the same choice back in the early 1970s, Gordon Greenidge chose (wisely as it happened) to play for West Indies and became one of the greats.
But if Jordan delivers on his early promise it will be a coup for England.
Jordan is one of 10 players in England’s one-day squad who represented England Lions against Bangladesh recently, registering two wins and a loss.
With the selectors deciding to rest Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad (though he will captain England’s T20 side this week), Graeme Swann and James Anderson after the Ashes, it always made sense to blood talented youngsters in the hope they might be fully formed by the next World Cup in 2015.
That learning process is why Kevin Pietersen has been retained and not rested alongside his Ashes team mates despite having a sore knee.
As he showed on the final day at the Kia Oval, few can match his batting versatility when the mood takes him and tyros such as Ben Stokes will assimilate a lot about one-day batting just by watching him and Eoin Morgan, England’s acting captain in Cook’s absence.
Pietersen is rested from the T20s and the squad to play Ireland, for which his place has been taken by Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance.
“Following a very intense period of cricket this summer we have decided to rest a number of senior players,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said.
“This creates an excellent opportunity for players who have impressed in county cricket and for England Lions recently to test themselves at international level as we continue to build a squad ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is less than 18 months away.”
After his surprise selection in the final Test, the absence of Chris Woakes from the one-day squad seems something of a puzzle, as does, given the experimental nature of the squad, the absence of Jonny Bairstow.
According to Miller, both have been given ample opportunity in England’s one-day sides before and the pair have been returned to their counties, Woakes to rediscover his swing and Bairstow to do some wicketkeeping.
“Players just don’t get given caps, they have to earn the opportunity through good performances with their counties,” Miller said.
“Once they have done that they will be considered for the next step, which is to introduce them to the international environment to see how they fare.”
One player eager to prove himself after a small taste of Test cricket three years ago is Michael Carberry.
Picked for a Test tour of Bangladesh, on the back of being an organised opening batsman, Carberry has revealed his inner animal for Hampshire this season to gain selection to both England’s T20 and one-day squads.
Like Jordan, he has endured a period out of the game, following complications from blood clots, but seems at the peak of his form now, ready to target Australia and the World Cup there in 18 months’ time.
England ODI squad v Ireland: E Morgan (Middlesex, capt), G Ballance (Yorkshire), R Bopara (Essex), D Briggs (Hampshire), J Buttler (Somerset), M Carberry (Hampshire), S Finn (Middlesex), C Jordan (Sussex), J Overton (Somerset), B Rankin (Warwickshire), B Stokes (Durham), J Taylor (Nottinghamshire), J Tredwell (Kent), L Wright (Sussex).
England ODI squad v Australia: E Morgan (Middlesex, capt), R Bopara (Essex), J Buttler (Somerset), M Carberry (Hampshire), S Finn (Middlesex), C Jordan (Sussex), J Overton (Somerset), K Pietersen (Surrey), B Rankin (Warwickshire), J Root (Yorkshire), B Stokes (Durham), J Tredwell (Kent), J Trott (Warwickshire), L Wright (Sussex).
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