ENGLAND Ashes hero Geraint Jones nipped into Canterbury to get his hair cut and wondered why a few more people than usual appeared to recognise him.

Back in his adopted home city, Kent’s Australian-raised wicketkeeper is still coming to terms with the impact England’s Ashes win has had on the nation.

After a hectic 24 hours in which he lifted the three-inch Ashes urn for the first time and paraded around the packed streets of London on an open-top bus, Jones was happy to finally switch off and get back to normal by enjoying home for the first time in weeks.

Jones said: "It's been the toughest cricket I’ve ever played and I’m still buzzing right now after all the festivities of the past few days but I’ve a feeling that in a couple of days’ time I may just hit a brick wall.

"It’s a bit tough having to sit back and watch Kent when the lads are still battling to win the championship against Nottinghamshire but I have to take the ECB’s guidance and have some rest.

"I know the Kent members would love to see me playing for the club right now, but I have to keep one eye on the next England goal and this winter’s tour of Pakistan so I will have to rest in readiness for that."

Apart from visiting his hairdresser, Jones will be on the look-out for a frame-makers in days to come to mount up his Ashes memorabilia.

He came back from The Oval with an England Ashes winners 2005 shirt signed by both teams and Adam Gilchrist’s shirt autographed by his Australian counterpart.

He added: "I didn’t manage to get hold of one of the stumps but I’ve got plenty of things that’ll help bring back some great memories.

"The best moment for me was in the England dressing room when Michael Vaughan walked in after speaking to the umpires to tell us the game was over and we had won.

"We were all in a huddle in the dressing room and the roar that went up was incredible, it was a big moment for us all.

"Then a little later I got to hold up the Ashes for the first time which was such a strange feeling.

"I thought of all the hard work, all the emotion that had gone into winning them, yet the urn is something you can hold in two fingers.

"Then the bus tour was unbelievable, we pulled away and turned the first corner to see the streets lined 10-deep with people just wanting to cheer us on.

"I just went 'wow'. It was just an incredible moment for me because it then hit home exactly what we had achieved and just how we’d captured the emotions and imagination of the nation."