Steve Harmison interview: My Ashes highs and lows and how tiring out Pat Cummins is key to England beating Australia

Steve Harmison can laugh about it now – but at the time he must have wished the ground at the Gabba would swallow him up whole.
Tour to forget: England's Steve Harmison says he was undercooked for Ashes series. Pictures: Gareth Copley/PATour to forget: England's Steve Harmison says he was undercooked for Ashes series. Pictures: Gareth Copley/PA
Tour to forget: England's Steve Harmison says he was undercooked for Ashes series. Pictures: Gareth Copley/PA

It was the opening act of the 2006/07 Ashes, the most eagerly-anticipated series between the great rivals for two decades following England’s ground-breaking win 16 months earlier on home soil.

Bowling from the Stanley Street End to Australian left-hander Justin Langer, Harmison’s first ball was the opening act of the series.

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It was a howler, pitching to the right and then veering off so aggressively even further right that it landed in the hands of Andrew Flintoff at third slip.

The Brisbane crowd cackled with delight as Harmison slunk away.

“When I bowled that first ball in 2006, let me tell you there were a lot of comments coming my way at third man,” recalls Harmison.

“But I let it brush off me, the beauty of cricket is I had another chance to bowl again 15 seconds later and for five Test matches, rinse and repeat.

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“The truth is I was under-prepared, nervous and tried to bowl too fast. I have a good laugh about it now.”

It's all over: England captain Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Steve Harmison and Ian Bell  look dejected while waiting for the presentation after the fourth day of the fifth Test at the SCG in Sydney. England lost the fifth and final Test by 10 wickets, with Australia completing a 5-0 series whitewash.It's all over: England captain Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Steve Harmison and Ian Bell  look dejected while waiting for the presentation after the fourth day of the fifth Test at the SCG in Sydney. England lost the fifth and final Test by 10 wickets, with Australia completing a 5-0 series whitewash.
It's all over: England captain Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Steve Harmison and Ian Bell look dejected while waiting for the presentation after the fourth day of the fifth Test at the SCG in Sydney. England lost the fifth and final Test by 10 wickets, with Australia completing a 5-0 series whitewash.

It set the tone, though, for a disastrous series on and off the field, with England losing 5-0 and captain Flintoff later admitting the tour turned into a ‘booze cruise’

“It didn’t matter that Flintoff was skipper. It could have been Andrew Strauss or Michael Vaughan, we’d still have lost that series 5-0. The problem Freddie had was his team wasn’t good enough,” says Harmison.

“I didn’t perform and was probably his biggest letdown. I tried my hardest, but it started badly with frankly shocking preparation ahead of Brisbane and went from there.

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“I missed matches and when I played I was poor because I had very little build up, a bit like England’s team right now out in Australia.

England's Steve Harmison on his knees during the third day of the first Test match against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane, Saturday November 25, 2006 (Picture: PA)England's Steve Harmison on his knees during the third day of the first Test match against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane, Saturday November 25, 2006 (Picture: PA)
England's Steve Harmison on his knees during the third day of the first Test match against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane, Saturday November 25, 2006 (Picture: PA)

“Teams these days, though, are used to going in underdone, in our day it made a huge difference and we weren’t good enough against that great Australian side. We missed Ashley Giles, Simon Jones, Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, we were on a hiding to nothing.

“Australia were as formidable as they ever were in their back garden. We weren’t nearly as good as we were in 2005. There’s not much that Andrew Flintoff could have done.”

As that England side discovered, once you start badly in Australia, everything turns against you. “Everything is ramped up, from the media to the expectation level,” says Harmison.

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“It became a real eye-opener into the passion and the hostility. Until 2005, it wore a bit thin for Brits due to Australian dominance, but 2005 reignited the series all over again. As an English or Australian cricketer, it’s the only series you want to be a part of and for me, the only series you are truly ever judged on and remembered by.

England's Steve Harmison celebrates dismissing Australian captain Ricky Ponting (right) during the first day of the third Test match at the WACA, Perth, Australia, in the 2006/07 series (Picture: PA)England's Steve Harmison celebrates dismissing Australian captain Ricky Ponting (right) during the first day of the third Test match at the WACA, Perth, Australia, in the 2006/07 series (Picture: PA)
England's Steve Harmison celebrates dismissing Australian captain Ricky Ponting (right) during the first day of the third Test match at the WACA, Perth, Australia, in the 2006/07 series (Picture: PA)

“When you tour Australia, you play a whole country, not just 11 men on a strip of grass. When you walk down the street, everyone spoke to us about cricket, from the baggage handlers at the airport through to a bunch of men in a bar.

“This time around, given the detachment from the public due to the biosecure bubbles, that might help England focus their thoughts on the task at hand and not be distracted by outside noise, although in my day that kind of banter with fans was part and parcel and something we relished. It was just words.”

Which brings us neatly on to this winter’s series which begins at the Gabba on Wednesday night/Thursday morning (midnight UK time).

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How do England, mired in an off-field racism scandal, defeat an Australia team, mired themselves in sexism scandal that saw them lose their captain Tim Paine?

Pat Cummins is the incumbent captain and therefore a potential weakness, believes Harmison.

“For me, Cummins is the best bowler in the world,” says the Durham legend, who played 63 Tests for England.

Pat Cummins, the new captain, could also be Australia's weak point, says Steve Harmison (Picture: PA)Pat Cummins, the new captain, could also be Australia's weak point, says Steve Harmison (Picture: PA)
Pat Cummins, the new captain, could also be Australia's weak point, says Steve Harmison (Picture: PA)

“If it starts overwhelming and overloading on him and he gets a niggle or loss of form, it could spell trouble for Australia particularly given his former injury problems. He can’t afford to miss every third or fourth Test if there is a problem.

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“Captaincy is simple, you are only as good as your team and often only as good as your bowling attack of which the skipper is one of them. Both bowling units can take 20 wickets, it’s whoever can bat for longest and score the most runs.

“So if England’s top order can pile on the runs, it’ll put pressure on Cummins to perhaps bowl when he doesn’t want to or more than he should. If a bowler is not hitting their stride and England start putting on a partnership, where is the next wicket coming from? He may need to think outside the box and deviate from his game plan if we start to get on top of them in the runs.

“It will put pressure on Pat Cummins the bowler and Pat Cummins the captain because then he has to start thinking a lot more and it’s mentally draining.

“If England can knock over Australia’s 1-2-3 and expose that middle order, then they have a chance of winning. But England need their own top order to fire in respect that their middle order can put enough runs on the board to give their bowlers a chance.

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“I am concerned about England’s lack of pace. Before Ben Stokes became available, their game was to play four seamers and try and bore Australia out – that was the only option they had. We don’t have quick bowlers and some of our options are quite samey, but you go with what you’ve got. It’s crucial to maximise the first 15-20 overs of life in the pitch. If they do that, then they have a great chance of winning.”

My England team for the first Test would be:

Burns, Crawley, Stokes, Root, Pope, Bairstow, Buttler, Woakes, Robinson, Anderson, Broad

“This is because it is going to be a green, seaming wicket. Mark Wood had a little injury scare, so I’d use him on the two surfaces that I think is going to be the flattest because you need something different.

“If the Gabba is going to be flat, with plenty of pace and a good batting wicket, Brisbane has been warm and sunny, then Mark Wood plays at the expense of Broad or Anderson, probably Broad.

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“If there is going to be a green wicket and the ball is going to do a bit, I’d go with the four bowlers that are suited to English conditions and I’d leave Wood until definitely Melbourne and Sydney.

“I’d play Ben Stokes as a batsman at three. He’s got the temperament as long as he isn’t bowling. If you put Stokes at three, I can get Bairstow as a specialist batsman and Ollie Pope in my side.

“I have nothing against Dawid Malan, he’ll average between 30-35, but I think Pope is a better batsman. The minute you introduce his bowling, you can’t have Stokes at three, it’s too big of an ask, but I would just use him as a batsman initially.”

My Australia team for the first test would be:

Warner, Harris, Labuschagne, Smith, Khawaja, Green, Carey, Cummins, Starc, Lyon, Hazelwood.

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“There’s only one place in the Australian team up for grabs, I think they’ll pick Carey as the keeper, but I would go with Josh Inglis, I think he’s a talented boy and has something about him. If Khawaja had scored a few more runs, there might have been an outside chance of him captaining Australia, but they have to choose between him and Travis Head. But we know Khawaja performs on Australian wickets. Cameron Green will bat at six – a very good all-rounder.

“Starc I’d worry about a little bit, I don’t think he’s had a high volume of bowling and he might be a little under-cooked. But on flat pitches, that bowling unit is better than Englands. With two day-night matches and the potential of some moisture, then England’s bowling unit has a chance.”

Steve Harmison was speaking on behalf of IndiaBetting.co.in

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