Time and a Place for Harmison's Pace

Steve Harmison bowled impressively and ran between the wickets like a colt. Unfortunately this all took place during the lunch interval at Kandy and the only truly interested onlookers were England's trainer and bowling coach.

Yesterday was a landmark in Harmison's career, though not one he will recall with great affection. This is the first time since 2002 that he has not been selected when fit. Whether we can say he has been 'dropped' might be a matter of semantics. It is true that he did not play the last Test at the Oval so how can he be dropped? It is also true that on a warm Saturday in Kandy he no longer gets in England's best side.

So a new challenge is upon him. Harmison, we know, is not a fan of tours, but these expeditions are far more painful when you are not playing; the time crawls and another trek around the boundary's edge to deliver another drink to the fast bowlers, who have been preferred by the selectors, can soon become a chore too many. Bowling at a baseball glove is not much fun, either.

Harmison will do the donkey work for his mates, but can his spirit stay strong? A chat with his old sparring partner would do no harm. Matthew Hoggard was dropped from the England team after the Galle Test of 2003. Look how the Yorkshire man bowled yesterday to see how he has improved since then.

As a relatively senior citizen on the international circuit Hoggard can be a playful soul at press conferences, though I think we have heard enough of the 'I close my eyes and wang it down' explanation, which was amusing first time around. Not quite so funny four more references last night.

However, I think he was serious when he said: 'It's nice to have competition for places. I wouldn't like to have been a selector before this game. We have two good 'uns [Harmison and Stuart Broad] in the dressing room.' He expressed relief that he had been chosen for this match after his injury problems last summer and that his place had been consolidated by taking those wickets, thereby displaying a genuine humility about what he does.

In defense of his increasingly nauseating 'wang it down' theory, Hoggard does have the virtue of not over-complicating the art of pace bowling. 'Out here you have a small opportunity to get the ball to swing so you have [inevitable, I know] to get the ball in the right areas,' he said.

There was just enough lateral movement in that first session and England exploited it superbly. The contrast with the start of England's last overseas Test tour was all too stark. Indeed I can't recall the opposition's opening batsmen having to play at the new ball so regularly for a very long time. We scarcely witnessed any of the Sri Lankans shouldering arms. This certainly was not the case 12 months ago in Brisbane, nor against the West Indies at Lord's in May.

In the post-Fletcher era, the all-out emphasis on pace has diminished. Sajid Mahmood has long been sidelined; here Harmison has been omitted. Instead, opposition batsmen, while receiving fewer bruises, must work harder for their runs. Frugality can create pressure, which leads even the best batsmen to make mistakes and Hoggard understands that better than most.

He was generous about his colleagues, especially in their efforts in the afternoon session when the ball had stopped moving. 'We all stuck to our guns and squeezed the batsmen. They never scored at more than four an over.' (How the currency has changed. A decade or two ago runs had to be yielded at less than three an over for 'pressure' to be applied.)

So we witnessed a resurgence of the old-fashioned values of the stalwart English pace man as embodied by Mike Hendrick, Geoff Arnold and Chris Old (when fit). Runs were yielded grudgingly; there were no freebies. Second slip felt secure from a freak missile straight from the bowler's hand. And batsmen, fresh to the crease, became fidgety and tentative. The strategy, recently underused by an attack peopled by those too often in pursuit of magical deliveries (I'm thinking of Mahmood again and Liam Plunkett), worked beyond England's expectations at Kandy.

But this won't always be the case. There will come a time when this miserly approach is not enough. Extra pace will be required to shake up the opposition. For that task Harmison remains far and away the best bet. England need him to keep running up to the crease eagerly even if the rest of the team are taking lunch.