Stephen Harmison Interview
Man of the Match in the first test Stephen Harmison has taken some of his time out to talk to the Telegraph’s Derek Pringle.
DP: Hi Stephen, how are you taking all of your new found form in?
SH: Well, it’s been great, I’ve really been soaking up the feeling of being on a high and I can’t wait for the Old Trafford test to start. After being down in the dumps for so long the feeling is so much sweeter.
DP: What did you do between the overseas tour and the home tour to improve so well?
SH: Well as you all do I only had a small amount of time in New Zealand before the first test because of the birth of my son Charlie. As I said on Sky Sports that I wouldn’t have missed it for the world and that I didn’t regret the decision, it wasn’t the greatest preparation for an international test match.
Thankfully for this series I’ve got to get tons of overs under my belt. I’ve been bowling well enough for Durham alongside my brother Ben, and I was feeling good coming into the series
Harmison has been working hard over the winter
DP: Many were ruling you out for the test after your, quite frankly, abysmal performance in New Zealand, were you surprised that you got picked?
SH: Well I was and I wasn’t really. I mean it was a massive surprise to be picked so early after my tour down under, but I knew if I kept bowling well for Durham my chance would eventually come. Kevin and I don’t know each other all to well but I think that he respects my work ethic and the bouncebackability that I showed after the test
DP: Your predictions for the summer?
SH: Well I think we showed people in England that our wins in New Zealand weren’t just a fluke and we’re starting to gel as a team. I think that we should win the test series against New Zealand but the ODI’s will be harder. For the up and coming games against South Africa, I think it’s a toss of a coin as to who will win the test series but I suspect they might be a little too strong for us in the ODI Series.