Harmison has yet to get back on track

Apr 25 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

DURHAM are still eagerly awaiting the rejuvenation of Steve Harmison as the fast bowler was overshadowed by another of the county’s international hopefuls, Graham Onions, against Surrey.

It was a pretty poor day for Dale Benkenstein’s men as only four batsmen reached double figures, although the removal of Mark Butcher in the final over the day by Neil Killeen did even things out slightly after the visitors had spent much of the second day of this LV County Championship clash threatening to dominate.

That will have improved the mood in the home dressing room, but inevitably it is Harmison’s performance which attracted the most scrutiny following his international setback over the winter.

Harmison’s bowling was hostile, but it was not accurate enough to take wickets and too often Surrey’s batsmen were able to watch the ball fly harmlessly through to the wicket-keeper. The Ashington Express – who is still feeling his way back after a difficult winter – also lost his personal battle with former England team-mate Butcher.

He has been one of the fast bowler’s many critics in recent months and Harmison had insisted he was looking forward to facing someone who had persistently suggested his international career is over.

With that in mind, Harmison appeared too focused on trying to rough Butcher up and, although he hit him in the chest with one nasty delivery, the Surrey veteran was 49 not out at the time. Butcher reached his half century – which came from 82 balls – in the next over, but things went rather better for Onions.

The Gateshead seamer was quick, pitched the ball up and was fittingly rewarded with two early wickets – Jon Batty, trapped lbw playing across the line, and Scott Newman, who was bowled shouldering arms.

The best was to follow, however, as Onions’ second spell brought the prize wicket of Mark Ramprakash. The leading run-scorer in county cricket for the past two years already has one century to his name this season but, having been badly dropped on nine by Phil Mustard off the bowling of Killeen, Neil McKenzie took a sharp diving catch at first slip to give Onions a memorable scalp. Surrey, though, are still in a strong position – one facilitated by some unspectacular batting from the home side, who struggled under murky skies.

At the start of a damp grey day, Mark Stoneman played and missed regularly and James Ormond eventually took an excellent one-handed take in the slips to give Pedro Collins his third wicket of the innings.

Stoneman had added just one to his overnight total, but Benkenstein was also struggling to middle the ball. He did manage to progress to 67 before a rising delivery from Ormond found the edge and Batty took the catch.

With those two gone, much depended on Mustard. The wicket-keeper-batsman has been moved up to six in the order to help push his bid to break into the England Test side, but this was a typically infuriating cameo.

Confident at the start, he looked as though he had played himself in with two successive boundaries to push Ormond out of the attack. It seemed this was going to be a well-timed reminder to the selectors. Instead, Mustard fell into a simple trap, cutting the ball straight to Butcher at backward point.

The talent is undoubtedly there, but has it come to the time in his career when more is expected from a 25-year-old who is no newcomer to Championship cricket?

Attractive twenties and thirties will certainly not persuade the selectors that he is more than just a one-day pinch-hitter, but Mustard knows that and nothing should ever rest on a single innings. It is up to him to rise to the challenge his ambitions require.

Mustard’s loose shot gave Surrey’s overseas player Matt Nicholson his first wicket and the Australian followed that up by removing Onions, who mistimed an attempted pull.

That left the promising Chris Jordan to clean up the tail in impressive fashion. At just 19, Surrey are extremely excited by the West Indian, who only made his Championship debut last year, and it is easy to see why.

He was fast, accurate and hostile, cleverly mixing up his bouncers and yorkers to dismiss Paul Wiseman, Mark Davies and Neil Killeen.