Wayward fast bowler Steve Harmison lingered under a stay of execution on Wednesday as England gravely weighed their bowling options ahead of the second Ashes cricket Test against Australia, starting at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
England have been able to make only running repairs, mental and physical, since Monday when Australia completed a 277-run first Test win at Brisbane to take a 1-0 lead and a substantial psychological advantage in the five-match series.
Foremost among England’s concerns and highest on its list of repair priorities has been the form of Harmison, their strike bowler, whose self-confidence suffered with his reputation from his desperately poor performance at Brisbane.
England have worked intensively with Harmison in the past three days, offering him personal coaching in private net sessions in the hope of restoring the rhythm, consistency and fire that were so patently lacking in the series opener.
Harmison’s first ball of the first day in Brisbane served as a preamble to and an epithet for England’s subsequent, uncompetitive performance. After months of anticipation, a hushed crowd waited for Harmison to perform the opening act of the 2006 series, and almost groaned at the anti-climax as the ball passed from the bowler to second slip, barely grazing the mown strip on the way.
Harmison never recovered from that nervous opening and played a much more limited role in the match than his form in England’s 2005 Ashes win over Australia should have ordained.
England have sought to boost the bowler’s confidence this week by assuring him of second Test selection but, as it became increasingly possible the tourists will take two spinners into the match, Harmison’s return has become less certain.
Coach Duncan Fletcher said after Brisbane that Harmison would definitely play at Adelaide but he was more equivocal on Wednesday, acknowledging that if spinners Ashley Giles and Monty Panesar are both selected, a fast bowler would likely be omitted.
When batting ability is also considered, Harmison seems far more likely than any other member of England’s pace contingent to be left out.
”We just have to look at the side and see if there’s a chance that we can play with two spinners,” Fletcher said.
”It was definitely in our minds when we arrived in Australia that there are some wickets, this could be one of them, where we could go in with two spinners. We just have to look at the best balance we think the side will be to beat Australia in the second Test.
”It could be with two spinners; it could be with a bowling attack where Harmison could bowl well, Matthew Hoggard and Jimmy Anderson bowl well in the nets, and then we have a problem of who to leave out if we go in with two spinners.”
Australia have few such concerns and have named an unchanged squad for the second Test, resisting the urge to call up spinner Stuart McGill. Fast bowler Glenn McGrath is still troubled by a slight heel injury and the Australian selectors were expected to monitor his fitness when the team trained in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Australia will enter the second Test gushing confidence after dominating the first Test from the toss. England, who took some hope from a more stalwart second-innings batting performance, will look to captain Andrew Flintoff to revive their spirits.
”Trying to win this series now is a huge job, I realise that. But we can’t let losing the first Test dent our confidence,” Flintoff said this week.
”In some ways, having another Test match so soon is good because it means we have to get straight back into it.
”We’re in a position most of us have been in before — 1-0 down in an Ashes series. And we all know what happened last time. After losing at Lord’s last year, we went to Edgbaston and scored more than 400 on the first day.
”The point is that we have to go into Friday’s Test in a positive frame of mind.
”Just because we’ve lost a Test, we’ve not become a bad side or bad players. We have a lot of belief in ourselves.” — Sapa-AP