Harmison to follow Flintoff's footsteps by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	SJ Harmison, A Flintoff
Event:	Australia in British Isles 2009

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DateLine: 25th July 2009

 

England fast bowler Steve Harmison will retire from Test cricket after the ongoing Ashes series. Harmison, 30, is said to be tired of the treadmill and will apparently also quit one-day international cricket and Twenty20 internationals.

 

Harmison, 30, has confided in close friends and teammates that he has had enough of the international scene and is ready to hang up his boots in favour of a quieter life with Durham only. Right now he is doing everything he can to play in what would be a final Ashes campaign but whether he gets the nod in the final three matches or not, his time in an England shirt is close to an end.

 

He is expected to be named in tomorrow's squad for the third npower Test match at Edgbaston next week, again as cover for Flintoff.

 

There is still plenty of cricket left in Harmison and it would be a shame if he follows through with his decision at this stage of his career but his frustration at not being able to reproduce his best cricket on the biggest stage of all is understandable. In the Caribbean tour of 2004 Harmison captured 23 wickets in fourTests, including a careerbest 7 for 12 in Jamaica, figures which sealed his position as one of the great fast bowlers England has ever produced.

 

But he has struggled to maintain his form and fitness since for England and without his great mate to lean on in the dressing room he is ready to turn his back on internationals.

 

Once Harmison makes his announcement he'd become the fifth member of the 2005 Ashes side to have hung up his Test boots along with Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles and Flintoff.

 

Unlike Flintoff, who has only retired from Tests, Harmison is thought to be leaving international cricket altogether to focus solely on Durham.