Harmison Starts His Return on a Highveld High

Steve Harmison finished with six wickets on his first-class comeback in South Africa but admitted to being "rusty" after bowling 23 extras for High veld Lions.

The England fast bowler is playing in the first of two super sport Series matches to prove his fitness and form before next month's Test series in Sri Lanka. He returned six for 91 from 27.3 overs, as Cape Cobras were bowled out for 294, but conceded he was far from his best.

"It was difficult, to be honest. This is sort of my pre-season," Harmison said. "It's the first real sort of cricket I've bowled since the middle of July - and even then it was only sort of eight overs - so probably since the fourth Test match in England [against West Indies] at the end of June. I've not really played that much outside and I must admit I did spray it a little bit. But I've got six wickets and I'm happy.

Mike Watkinson has ruled out the possibility of leaving Lancashire to work at the England and Wales Cricket Board's academy in Loughborough as the national performance director. He confirmed for the first time yesterday that he had two interviews for the job, which has been vacant since Peter Moore's stepped up to succeed Duncan Fletcher as the England coach in April, but was recently informed by the ECB's chief executive, David Collier, that he was no longer on the shortlist.

Ric Charlesworth, an Australian who emerged as the ECB's No1 target late in the recruitment process, is thought to have turned down the job to work in Indian hockey, and now David Parsons, formerly the ECB's spin-bowling coach who has been running the academy on a caretaker basis, is expected to be appointed for the long term.