ENGLAND’S Ashes hero Geraint Jones believes the tremendous support of the Barmy Army will push the side on to a series win over Australia.

Speaking ahead of the third Test at Old Trafford, which started on Thursday morning, the Kent wicketkeeper said he and the England side were still "bubbling" following their last-gasp, two-run win over the Aussies at Edgbaston that squared the series at one apiece.

Jones, the Ashes villain after dropping two catches during defeat in the first Test at Lord’s, turned himself into the nation’s champion by clinging onto the gloved catch from Australia’s last man Michael Kasprowicz.

Recalling the moment when he moved forward and to his left to claim the catch off Steve Harmison, Jones said: "I knew it had hit the glove because so much of the pace had been taken off the ball and it turned out to be quite a simple catch.

"It was a catch I’d expect to take every time but, in terms of how one dismissal can change an entire series, then it was probably my most memorable catch ever.

"We could have been just one ball away from going 2-0 down but the catch kept our hopes alive and, in terms of team morale, was my best moment in cricket yet."

Jones and the England side rightly celebrated their success with a couple of beers at their Birmingham hotel followed by a game of golf at the world-famous Ryder Cup venue the Belfry, the following day.

He added: "We had a couple of beers in the garden of the hotel and then went for a stroll down Broad Street.

"Wherever we went people started clapping and slapping us all on the back, you could see what our win had meant to people.

"That’s the great thing about sport, that’s the nice side of it and that sort of support gives you a lift and makes you feel good to be part of it all."

Not that the week was all adulation and plaudits for Jones, prior to the match he had again received critical media coverage following his below-par display at Lord’s, criticism that fuelled the Australian section of the Edgbaston crowd and made Jones the target of their abuse.

"I guess you could say there was an outpouring of my emotion once I’d taken the catch, in fact the boys were holding me back at one point," said the 29-year-old gloveman.

"I’d been getting tremendous stick from the Aussie supporters and all I had gone though in those three days and in the media the previous six to 10 days came flooding back culminating in my reaction.

"There was a tremendous feeling of relief that we had also finally won what had been such a topsy-turvy game."

Jones said he and the side will take the winning spirit into the third Test and the remainder of the five-game series.

He added: "There are three games to go and we are confident and bubbling as a side, we are here in Manchester and are here to win.

"A few of the lads have already seen the pitch and we’ve spoken with the groundsman, the pitch looks a flat belter by all accounts and shouldn’t take too much turn but ought to be set up well to suit our seamers."