OTHER SPORT
IT'S LOOKING GRIM FOR WIDE BOY STEVE
Watch out, Widey's about...
By Henry Blofeld, The Voice of Cricket
What on earth has happened to Steve Harmison? This is a constantly recurring question.
Once the leading fast bowler in the world, his grip on his Test place is becoming weaker by the match. After an abysmal Ashes series in the winter, he has shown in this first Test at Lord’s that nothing has changed.
His first ball in Australia at Brisbane went unerringly and at no great pace to Freddie Flintoff at second slip. At Lord’s over the last two days he has also been keeping the slip fielders on their toes with his woeful inaccuracy.
He has now taken 186 wickets for England which is a considerable haul. Yet in his 50th Test match he struggled to take just one and bowled six wides, one or two of which were almost double wides. The plain truth is that at this stage of his career he appears to have little idea of where the ball is going.
Does this stem from an inability to work at his game? Does it come from a mental block, a recently acquired stage fright at this level or inadequate coaching? A bowler who has taken 186 wickets for his country is not to be sneezed at and at the age of 28 he should be at ease with himself.
It is impossible to think of any other fast bowler who has taken almost 200 wickets for England bowling six wides in a single Test match, let alone the first ball of a series direct to second slip. The very thought would have
Fred Trueman turning in his grave.
After the Australian series Harmison said that he did not think he bowled too badly, which argues that there
certainly is a sizeable mental block. This summer he has taken 27 wickets for Durham at almost 14 runs each. These are splendid figures. Yet if you had seen his performance in this opening Test of the season, you would think that it all had been made up.
Harmison obviously needs the close technical attention of a coach. He also badly wants geeing up to make sure he maintains his zest and enthusiasm. He found the perfect coach in Troy Cooley, the Australian who was England’s bowling coach for three years.
Cooley then returned to look after Australia’s bowling when the powers-that-be at the ECB failed to understand his worth and were too mean to pay him the money he wanted. This was yet another prime example of that august body’s inspiring leadership of England’s cricket.
They appointed Kevin Shine in his place. In getting on for two years Shine has hardly scratched the surface of Harmison, whose form has so dramatically deteriorated. Even if Harmison cannot remember the lessons he was taught by Cooley – and it’s remarkable if he cannot – Shine must surely have spoken to his predecessor.
Harmison’s grip of the ball is wrong, with his two fingers down the seam too close together, and he is constantly falling away in his delivery stride. If everyone knows what is wrong, surely it is within the wit of man to put it right. We must hope that the strong rumours that the great South African fast bowler Allan Donald will take Shine’s place are true.
There is no one who knows more about fast bowling than Donald. But I think there is also a mental factor. After starting the season so well for Durham, Harmison’s form at Lord’s shows that he could easily have acquired a mental block when it comes to taking the big stage. I also wonder if he works at his game as he should. Is he tough enough with himself?
I believe the time has come to leave him out of the side. This could easily be the one thing that is needed to
concentrate his mind. I hope he feels thoroughly ashamed at the way he is bowling for England. If he thought he wasn’t too bad in Australia, I doubt he does.
In the 10 Tests he played between 2003 and 2004 he took 59 wickets at 19.33 each, which are figures that win Test matches and show that the talent is there.
Otherwise his wickets have cost comfortably over 30 runs apiece, which most emphatically do not win Tests. If Harmison wants to continue playing for England, he has got to get his thinking cap on – and get it on quick.
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