England in Sri Lanka, 2007-08

Harmison must tour Sri Lanka says Gough

Cricinfo staff

October 20, 2007

Harmison has been out of action since August with a back injury © Getty Images

Darren Gough, the former England fast bowler, has criticised England's insistence that Steve Harmison must prove his fitness and form before securing a place on the plane to Sri Lanka.

Harmison, who has been recovering from a back injury, wasn't among the squad of 15 named yesterday for England's three-Test tour of Sri Lanka. However, if he doesn't have any adverse reaction to his brief stint at Lions in South Africa, he could yet join up with the team.

This, however, does not sit well with Gough who feels Harmison is being treated unfairly.

"Steve is such a vital bowler for England and he has proved time and time again how good he is," Gough told the Northern Echo. "He brings something different to everyone else and he is a must for me in the England team.

"He is a match winner and with (Matthew) Hoggard also coming back, England will go into Sri Lanka with a very good bowling line up, with everyone vying for a spot desperate to do well and win."

Harmison will travel to South Africa with England's recently appointed bowling coach, Ottis Gibson - a man who Gough insists is key to "firing" up Harmison.

"Ottis has already shown what influence he can have on the bowlers and I have no doubt he is the man to get Steve firing," Gough said. "He has got all the qualifications, played at Test level and he knows what the international game is all about.

"All I want is for Steve to come out firing on all cylinders. We want him running through brick walls for England and hopefully he will come out and prove to everyone how good he is because he is one of our best bowlers."

© Cricinfo

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Comments have now been closed for this article Justin Langer related that towards the end of the boot camp out in the desert that the Aussies did as part of their Ashes preparation, it was suddenly sprung upon Ricky Ponting that he had to make a speech about what he wanted from his team. Langer said it was the most inspiring thing he'd ever heard, and the whole team was "ready to go through walls" for their captain. Comparing the attitude the Australians showed during that series to the attitude Harmison showed, I don't see much chance of him showing up and somehow magically being ready to "run through brick walls for England". The level of commitment that bloke is capable of was reflected in his "retirement" from one day cricket, at the ripe old age of 27. Posted by yakka on October 21 2007, 16:59 PM GMT I don't think that, given England's performances over the last year and a bit, that anybody should be able to simply walk back into the team - Harmy especially. I'm sure we all remember what happened last time he was thrown into a game without enough match practice, and I'm sure we remember the series that followed. Even earlier this year, after (apparently) bowling well for Durham he was unable to produce any serious goods against the Windies. Also, I dont think Harmy has "proved time and time again how good he is." He has had some exceptional performances, of course, but he has had more than his share of mediocrity. Worse than that, it has often bordered on indifference. I think Harmison needs to prove to himself that he actually wants to play before he is even considered - Hoggy, Siddy, Broad, Tremors and Jimmy are all ahead of him in the pecking order as far as I am concerned, and I am even tempted to put Plunkett in there too, because he is younger, quick and just as wayward! Posted by onehorsetown on October 21 2007, 09:32 AM GMT Harmision is the kind of bowler who needs lots oc support & care. Most of the time, he performs very well in England & he is not that stronger a force when he plays away from home; This can be noted from the facts that he has taken 124 Test wkts @ 28 in home tests, he failed to repeat the windies magic of 7/12 in 2004 in the away matches where he has taken 81 wkts in 25 tests @ 35. One can always argue that mere ststistics will not show the true picture, in harmmision's case it does. Moreover, he requires Flintoff in the team to lift his morale. All am saying is that, Harmision should be played in the home matches first and then decision must be taken whether or not they can have him in the away matches. with flintoff not being in the tour, it may be doubly difficult for him Posted by King_Viswa on October 21 2007, 07:19 AM GMT I dont think harmison shud be selected..he is a wayward bowler who clicks once in a while and is selected because of past repute ..somethin like bhaji whose has done nothing great except for the 2001 series against Aussies but that 2 was fluke since there were lot of umpiring indecisions. its good 2 see strauss dropped from the team and so shud harmison .both shud prove their form in domestic cricket 2 come back into the team..dont undertand how prior is there ..they shud hav selected read who is a better keeper..Anyways there is no point as england will lose this series Posted by jumbo on October 20 2007, 18:35 PM GMT Top ^

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Strauss misses out on Sri Lanka tour

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