England told: You must play Harmy

Jul 14 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

DALE Benkenstein has criticised England for not looking after the bowler he believes is most likely to win the Ashes back for them.

Stephen Harmison was yesterday named in a 14-man squad for the second Test against Australia at Lord’s on Thursday. The 30-year-old has not played since being dropped from the team in New Zealand five months ago, but is not expected to do so this week either.

If so, Durham will be rightly furious, having had to do without Graham Onions at Headingley this week after he was England’s 12th man in Wales.

Former South Africa international Benkenstein still cannot believe Harmison did not feature at Cardiff and lambasted the selectors for making their most potent weapon feel an outcast in the first half of the summer.

"I just think they get caught up with too much theory, and go on things that are not cricket-related," he said. "At the end of the day you want bowlers who are going to get wickets and batters who are going to get runs and he’s the most feared bowler in England. Ask any batsman on the county circuit who they don’t want to face and it’s him. Ask half the Australian side and I think they’d say the same thing. I just don’t understand why they don’t look after him. It should be their job to keep him going and keep him positive rather than knocking him down." Harmison has fought back into the reckoning with 42 First-Class wickets this season, more than any Englishman except Onions, who is set to replace Monty Panesar at Lord’s. Most pertinently, he was at his aggressive best for the England Lions against Australia at Worcestershire the week before the first Test.

"They keep asking a lot of him when they keep knocking him back and I think it’s unbelievable the way he keeps performing for us," said Benkenstein.