Harmison Returns With Two Wickets

After a season of injury and strife, Steve Harmison returned to first-class cricket yesterday in an endeavor to get fit for the forthcoming Test series in Sri Lanka. Harmison has not played since undergoing a hernia operation in June but was awarded a central contract and a provisional place in the touring party providing he is able to prove himself both physically and bowling fit during a two match spell playing in South Africa for the Highveld Lions.

His two wickets yesterday in Paarl against the Cape Cobras represented a start, but even if he joins the England squad in Sri Lanka, he will be fighting for a place in the Test side along with four other pace bowlers. "The playing field is level," insisted the England coach Peter Moores yesterday.

If there has been a tendency in the past by Moores' predecessor Duncan Fletcher to over protect Harmison and other bowlers, at the expense of rhythm in some cases, then that is not something that Moores will allow to happen now. "In general there is a balance to be had for each player," said Moores yesterday, "but you have to bowl competitively to learn the craft. I think we've tried to do that through the summer and create opportunities where if there is a long gap and it can be fitted in to get them to play. If there are niggles or whatever it is difficult to let them go but in general to play and bowl and to be able to ply your trade is a good thing."

Harmison in particular is a player that Moores believes can only benefit from having match overs behind him. "We needed to get him out to South Africa to see if he was fit," he explained. "Steve played a game on Sunday and reports came back from Ottis Gibson, the bowling coach who is out there monitoring him and from Steve himself that he was fine. We will see how he goes in Paarl and the second game because he has not just got to be physically fit but bowling fit.

"We've got a couple of weeks to prepare when we get to Sri Lanka and it is crucial that we hit that series very well so Steve has the task of being able both to get fit enough to bowl and to have some form bowled into him as well. He is keen to go well. He's not daft and knows that he has not bowled for a long time and that he is at his best when he has been bowling. Certainly one thing I have found is that he loves bowling, he actually likes to be bowling, so he needs to go out to Sri Lanka knowing that he has played a couple of first class games and that he knows that and feels great, is bowling nicely and can arrive with a lot of confidence."

"It is hard to comment on whether he has been underworked in the past," the coach added, "because I don't know what injuries he has had or how much he has bowled. What I do know is that having dealt with him and talked to him he knows that he likes bowling and when he does bowl he finds his rhythm. Some are like that and it suits him so it makes sense to send him out to South Africa to bowl and help give us a selection headache in Sri Lanka. Selection for the first Test will be tight and he has got a record behind him and has done well. But we've seen over the last few months that other bowlers have done well too and it is our job as selectors to start with a level playing field."

Moores was also keen to draw a line under the furore caused by Duncan Fletcher's revelations, in his recently published book, concerning Andrew Flintoff. Moores says that it is a volume he has yet to read but that his concern for the England team began the day he commenced his new role and since then Flintoff has been admirable. "As far as I am concerned, history starts with the day I took over.

"To be fair to Fred he has been great. He's got stuck in, done his work, went to Twenty20 with some pain but tried to manage that injury, has since found out what was causing it and is now very committed to getting stuck into his rehab and getting back fitness. He's doing fine and working very hard. Don't think Duncan's comments as reported will have any effect on him. I don't speak to Fred much because the way I see it is he has his support network and the challenge for me will be when he is closer to playing. At the moment it's a rehab thing."