International
Harmison can bounce back believes Collingwood
ENGLAND one-day skipper Paul
Collingwood has backed
Durham team-mate Steve
Harmison to silence his critics
and rediscover his Ashes-winning
form this season.
The 29-year-old has come
under heavy criticism following
his below-par performance in
New Zealand, with former England
stars Andrew Caddick and
Mark Butcher among those
putting the boot in.
Harmison, who delayed his arrival
in New Zealand due to the
birth of his fourth child, was
quickly shown the door along
with fellow strike-partner
Matthew Hoggard after a dismal
showing in the Test opener in
Hamilton.
The Ashington-born paceman
recorded figures of 1-122 in the
first innings and bowled only
four overs in the second as
Daniel Vettoris troops cruised
to an 189-run victory.
Nottinghamshire duo Stuart
Broad and Ryan Sidebottom put
Harmison firmly in the shade as
England went on to seal a 2-1 series
victory C with the later picking
up the man of the series
award.
But Collingwood insists
Harmison C who has bagged 212
Test wickets in 57 outings C will
come out all guns blazing for
Durham on Sunday when they
line up against Yorkshire in the
Friends Provident Trophy.
We all know what Steve can
do when he is bowling at 100 per
cent, said Collingwood, speaking
at Englands new adidas kit
launch. He is one of the best
bowlers in the world C he is
world class, simple as that, and
I know he is desperate to get
back to that.
He has the desire to prove a
few people wrong now C he
knows his performances against
New Zealand werent as good as
he wanted them to be and he
wants to get back to his best
form.
It is entirely up to him C he
needs to get his confidence levels
back up and he needs to get
that action honed in and ready
to go.
But Steve is well aware of
what he has to do C he has to go
back to county cricket and start
from there. That is the only option
he has if he wants to get
back in the England side.
I have spoken to Steve and
you can tell just by looking at
him that he has got that desire
to get back into the England side
and hopefully it is sooner rather
than later.
Collingwood and Harmison
were part of the Ashes winning
side which upset worlds cricketing
balance three years ago
when they downed Ricky
Pontings Australia 2-1.
However, the Aussies returned
the favour on their own turf twoyears
later as England slumped
to a 5-0 thrashing, with Collingwood
becoming only the third
Englishmen to hit a double-century
against Australia during
the second Test in Adelaide.
But under new coach Peter
Moores, England have found new
life and with next years Ashes
series already on the horizon C
Collingwood is preparing to
send a message to his counterparts
Down Under.
I think everybody knows we
are in a re-building phase at the
moment but now is the time for
us to kick on and get results
under our belt, added Collingwood
C who has played 33 Tests
and 141 one-day internationals
for England. We need to get
those confidence levels high so
when we do come up against the
Aussies we can go and give it our
best shot.
Peter has had time to settle in
and hopefully we can see the real
England this summer. South
Africa will be a real test for us
to see how far we have come over
the last few years.
It is going to be an exciting
Test and one-day series and it is
time for us to start peaking now
and making big scores.
And the Shotley Bridge-born
England skipper has also urged
fellow Durham team-mate Phil
Mustard to be patient after
falling down the pecking order
in the race to be Englands No.1
Test keeper.
The 25-year-old has played six
one-day internationals for England
but is yet to make his Test
debut - overlooked in favour of
Warwickshires Tim Ambrose.
Phil may have to wait for
his Test spot, added Collingwood.
But he has got the opportunity
in the one-day
squad to go out there and
perform and not many
people have that.
He has got the
talent and he has
proved it already -
it is just up to
him now to get
runs in the
four-day game
for Durham.
ö Adidas is
now the official
kit supplier
to both the
mens and
w o m e n s
teams in a
f i v e - y e a r
a g r e e m e n t
with the England
and
Wales Cricket
Board. The
new Test kit
will be worn
for the first
time in the
forthcoming Series
against New
Zealand.
9:04am Friday 18th April 2008
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