Bowlers must attack their nerves

[King]

They say Test cricket is about character and Steve Harmison has shown considerable reserves of it in this match, writes Simon Hughes. More... Bowlers must attack their nerves By Simon Hughes Last Updated: 1:28am BST 11/06/2007 They say Test cricket is about character and Steve Harmison has shown considerable reserves of it in this match. Most batsmen wouldn't agree but actually it takes more resolve to overcome stage fright or a dramatic loss of form if you're a bowler. Batsmen out of nick are invariably gone in a flash (namely Andrew Strauss in this match) and are then left alone to bemoan the injustice of it all in private. Bowlers have to go through the full humiliation of spraying the ball both sides of the wicket and then have the harrowing experience of trying to complete the over in the full public glare. You're praying to get the last one down there somewhere near the stumps and that the umpire will have a heart and not call it wide even if it probably is. That's before all the merciless abuse from spectators on the boundary once the spell is over. Sometimes a bowler's nerves are so acute he's frozen with fear and scared to let the ball go as Harmison was on Friday afternoon. You could see it in his nervous amble to the crease, his timid release and his speed hovering barely above 80mph. His apprehensive approach exacerbated his technical peculiarities which feature a head and delivery arm tilted beyond the vertical and a loose wrist action which tends to allow the ball to flop out of the side of the hand. Harmison has always had these idiosyncrasies, but at his best, overcomes them with momentum through the crease and a full follow through. It is the same in most ball sports. The transfer of weight from back foot to front on release/contact is crucial. If you lean back on a golf shot you'll probably skew the ball sideways. Better momentum in delivery was what Allan Donald identified as a quick fix to get Harmison back on track. He knew it from personal experience, regularly tinkering with his run up to ensure he hit the crease at optimum speed. He often used to find that the faster he ran in the slower he bowled. Importantly, Harmison knew to trust Donald and to give his solution a try. So we came to Harmison's first over yesterday. First overs - even more so first balls - are vital for all bowlers of a nervous disposition. Your whole waking focus has been on that one delivery, willing it to get close to the spot you aimed it, with intent and venom. It's a crucial block upon which you then build the rest of your performance. If that ball goes awry you're always trying to claw back the initiative and your game is in danger of unravelling. Harmison's first ball sailed past Chris Gayle's neck and went through to the keeper. It was fast and on the right line and was still climbing as it hit Matt Prior's gloves rather than the first innings effort which had plopped limply into them as he sprawled on the ground. It buoyed the bowler and bothered the batsman and the rest of the over was full of menace, as was his bowling all day. Harmison had exorcised his first-over demons, for the moment anyway. Fundamentally, he now knew that he could. The annals are littered with examples of bowlers 'losing it'. Left arm spinners are most often the sufferers but it has afflicted fast bowlers too. David Gurr was one. He was a hugely gifted fast bowler who starred for young England in the late 1970s, but after a couple of profitable years for Somerset he mysteriously lost all semblance of control. He sent down so many embarrassing wides in one match that the umpire had to call 'over' even before it had been officially completed. He never played again. Neither did Kevin Emery, an upright fast bowler who took 82 wickets for Hampshire in 1982 that nearly earned him selection for England. A no-ball habit materialised into horrendous directional problems. He was still superb in the nets, but in a match all he could produce were full tosses and wides. This is a typical scenario. The higher the stakes the more the neuroses sets in. Unlike them and numerous others, Harmison was prepared to face up to his failings and try to cure them, in the most conspicuous environment of the lot. "Get off before someone sees yer!" was a familiar piece of advice at Middlesex if a bowler was spraying it everywhere. That Harmison did not accept this easy escape route is a clear indication that he will survive his annus horribilis.

[King]

I have played and watched a lot of cricket but I have to say I haven't seen too many bowlers that can bowl as many wides as Harmison with the new ball. The most that comes to mind was in one of the school game when this bloke bowled about 5 or 6 wides in a row but even they weren't as wide as the Harmison ones.

[Donny]

Unfortunately, the same rubbish is trotted out by Pommy press, his fans or team mates whenever they find the vaguest semblance of Harmy getting the ball on line. Personally, I'm sick and tired of hearing the same old same old about this waste of talent. Feel free to read my piece in AC, entitled: Hapless Harmy - Pitiful parody of a Pommy paceman. http://www.aussiecricket.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5955

[King]

Harmison was crap this morning. Can't recall an attempt by him to make the batters play at all. Way too short and wayward. The first ball he bowled, you guys know where it headed. No prizes for guesses, yup leg side. If you don't make the batter play, how the heck are you going to get a wicket?