Harmison ‘needs variety’

8:42am Tuesday 4th March 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

AHEAD of the Test series starting in New Zealand tonight, Pakistan legend Waqar Younis has joined his compatriot Wasim Akram in offering words of advice to Steve Harmison.

The former Pakistan captain, respected as one of the greatest quick bowlers of all time with 373 Test wickets and 416 one-day international wickets to his name, has offered words of encouragement to Harmison.

The Ashington Express showed signs of a return to form last week and Younis admitted: "When I made my debut for Pakistan in 1989 I could get good players out with fast, straight, yorkers. But the game has speeded up so much quick bowlers who try that now will get hit for four.

"Steve Harmison is a very good bowler. My advice is to vary his pace and use the return crease to vary the angle of his deliveries on all pitches.

"I'm not convinced that he's always got the right field when he's bowling because as a fast bowler these days you have got to bowl fast and straight.

"If you get hit for runs then you have to change your field, but the important thing is not to bowl too short or too full, but to swing the ball."

Waqar and Wasim took 787 Test wickets between them and Waqar, who averaged an impressive 23.56 runs for each of his 373 Test victims, compared with Harmison's 211 wickets at 30.96, believes the Durham paceman could be equally devastating for England in this important Test series.

"Wasim and I both agree that fast bowlers have got to use their pace," Waqar said.

"As a fast bowler Steve Harmison is not there to bowl line and length so it shouldn't matter if he goes for a few runs as long as he gets wickets.

"His job is to get wickets and to ignore people who criticize him.

"Some of the critics have made a career out of these criticisms but they never learned to bowl quickly themselves so how can they tell Steve how to bowl?"