Steve Harmison - a tale of so much promise

The big burly fast bowler from England, Steve Harmison, recently announced his retirement from International cricket – on October 6^th – bringing to an end a career that promised so much but did not deliver to its potential.

Having made his first-class debut with Durham in 1996, Harmison’s calling for International cricket came against India in a Test match at Trent Bridge where he picked up 3 lower-order wickets and thus kick-started a journey that through-out had many ups and downs. With a figure and action that could intimidate any batsman in the world, he was thought to be as England’s version of the tall fast men of the Windies.

During the initial stages of his career, Harmison promised so much but that never really materialized into results. But he proved all his doubters wrong with a career-best 7 for 12 against the West Indies at Sabina Park, as he demolished the Windies batting line-up for a mere 47 runs.

The next year was the best in International cricket for Harmison as he played a major role in the England’s defeat of Australia in the epic 2005 Ashes series. His wicket of Michael Clarke, bowled off a slower ball, in the second Test at Edgbaston was one of the turning points of the series as England, who were 1-0 down after the first test, came back to win the series 2-1. He was named in the list of Wisden’s Cricketers of the year in 2005.

Along with Hoggard, Jones and Flintoff, Harmison formed a potent pace bowling partnership which destroyed the strong Aussie batting line-up. Harmison made the then Australian captain smell blood as he hit Ponting with a bouncer. Hitting Ponting, who was regarded as one of the finest players of the hook shot, on the face showed the damage that this bloke could do.

Just when his career was beginning to take flight, injuries came to haunt him and his criticizers questioned his commitment towards the team. Harmison complained of home-sickness and accepted that he had a dis-like towards touring. This, along with injuries and inconsistent performances, plagued him through-out his career as he never really cemented his place in the English test side.

His form in the limited overs cricket remained scratchy through-out and he played in just 2 T20 Internationals. He announced his retirement in 2006 after the Perth test against Australia, and came out of it after being persuaded to by his captain Kevin Pietersen. But after a string of poor performances he finally called it quits to one-day cricket in 2009 having played in 58 matches and picking up 76 wickets.

Harmison’s worst period, though, came in the return Ashes series in Australia. With the Aussies wanting to revenge the loss in 2005, England needed the Durham-lad to fire on all cylinders, but his first ball wide to Justin Langer in Gabba which flew to Andrew Flintoff in second slip, set the tone for what followed to be a nightmare series for both England and Harmison.

After that Ashes series, Harmison showed signs of returning back to his best as he picked up 16 wickets in four matches against the West Indies, but it proved to be just a flash in the pan as he once again suffered from inconsistent performances.

Post the 2006 Ashes, Harmison played in just 13 Test matches – including the final two Tests in the 2009 Ashes series, which remained his last series as an International cricketer – and was subsequently removed from the ECB’s central contract list.

He went to play for his county side, Durham, but could never really rediscover his best form. With the likes of Broad, Tremlett, Finn, Onions, Bresnan breaking into the Test side and the competition for places heating-up in the England side, Harmison found it difficult to break into the team.

Having been given a life-line by his county after the 2012 season, Harmison announced his retirement from all cricket and thus ended a career that saw one of the best spells bowled by a Englishman and also one of the ‘worst deliveries’ in cricket.

In his Test career Harmison played in 63 matches and picked up 223 wickets at a strike rate of 59. A career that was full of promise but never really took full flight.