Posts tagged with ‘Steve Harmison’

The selection of Luke Wright and Liam Plunkett for England’s tour of South Africa this winter will surprise many. The lack of reserve batsmen suggests that England will continue with Prior at six and five bowlers. Steven Davies is the reserve wicketkeeper, and Adil Rashid will understudy Graeme Swann.

It’s Central Contract Awards time, and the big “news” is that Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar have missed out altogether. Actually, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise – between them they only played 3 Tests this summer.

This (impending) defeat will rank as highly as, if not higher than, any of England’s regular ’90s maulings. They have been truly embarrassing, like senile old men who have soiled themselves, shuffling about aimlessly, muttering incomprehensibly.

Steve Harmison was dropped from the England team because he regularly bowls pies. His stock delivery is the long-hop. This was in March 2008 during the tour of New Zealand. It should have been the end of his Test career.

England have spent the previous three Tests grafting hard and building up their 1-0 advantage. Today they flushed it efficiently down the toilet with three hours of the most inept cricket you will ever have the displeasure to witness.

So, the knee has finally hoisted the white flag and said enough is enough. Flintoff has not recovered in time for the Headingley Test, which starts this morning, and a nation will doubtless be in morning, whilst another one quietly starts to fancy it’s chances with the news that Matt Prior may be out with an injury.

The news is that Ryan Sidebottom has been recalled to the squad, and that Jonathan Trott has been included as batting cover for Flintoff, should his knees decide that they’d much prefer to stay at home than spend five days at Headingley.

Once KP was ruled out, we all knew what the squad was going to be. There was almost no point in announcing it.