BEN Harmison has played his last cricket match for Durham. The Riversiders have accepted defeat in their long-running battle to turn the all-rounder’s potential into achievement and will not renew his contract at the end of the season, coach Geoff Cook has confirmed.
The 25-year-old’s details have been circulated around the counties, though none are thought to have yet been in touch.
The younger brother of double Ashes winner Stephen, some observers thought all-rounder Ben the most talented of the clan (James also played for Durham seconds and Northumberland) when he was an England Under-19 international.
A double stress fracture of the back hampered his early progress, as it had Stephen’s. It prevented him bowling, but remarkably did not stop him scoring centuries in his first two First-Class appearances, against Oxford University and a West Indies A side featuring Tino Best and Daren Powell, in 2006.
He made his only County Championship century against Warwickshire the following year.
Harmison Junior suffered from being shunted around the batting order. Some games he would be as low as eight, others in the top three. In recent seasons Durham tried to utilise him as a No 3 batsman in one-day cricket, where his seam bowling could come in handy.
In the end, though, he proved a jack of all trades, master of none. His highest limited-overs score was 67 (against Nottinghamshire in 2009) – insufficient with the management consistently preaching the need for a top-order batsman to bat through the innings.
It is something Durham have only belatedly got the hang of this season, when he also lost his No 3 role in the 40-over side to Ben Stokes – shunted back down to eight – and May’s appearance in Edinburgh was his last.
He averaged 24 with the bat and 35 with the ball in “List A” cricket (40 or 50 overs) and although his Twenty20 bowling average was much better (20), his economy was high, and his batting average low.
He also played second-team cricket for Kent, and Minor Counties for Northumberland. Harmison was unfortunate to emerge just as Durham were forming their first successful four-day unit, now based around a formidable squad. Had he emerged 10 years earlier, as Stephen did, he would have played far more first-team cricket and perhaps blossomed into the cricketer his youth coaches expected.
As it was, he was limited to 32 Championship run-outs, the first at Lord’s, the last in September 2010. The left-hander averaged 26 in all First-Class cricket and took 33 wickets at 34.
Although his fate had already been decided then, the emergence of another Ashington cricketer at Nottinghamshire this week highlighted a changing of the guard.
Mark Wood, 21, impressed with his feisty fast bowling, claiming match figures of 5-129 on his Championship debut at Trent Bridge, and his belligerent batting contributed 45 not out to a losing cause.
Harmison will not be the last unfulfilled talent to leave Chester-le-Street this season, with Kyle Coetzer expected to make his loan to Northamptonshire permanent this summer.
Liam Plunkett, though, is expected to spurn Warwickshire’s advances and sign a new contract.
At just 25, Harmison still has the time to make something of his talent, if he has the hunger to do so outside of the only county he wanted to play for.
Durham have moved on. It remains to be seen if he will get the chance to do likewise.
