ON THIS DAY: HARMISON'S WIDE, WIDE, WIDE

“When it came to bowling the first ball, I froze"

The Cricketer looks back on famous moments in Ashes history during England’s trip Down Under.

Today, one delivery that was a sign of things to come...

Type ‘Steve Harmison' into YouTube and the first prompts that come up are ‘Steve Harmison slower ball’ and ‘Steve Harmison wide’. Kasprowicz at Edgbaston doesn’t even make the top two

Harmison played 63 Tests for England and took 226 wickets. But of 13,375 Test deliveries, those are the most memorable, for two very different reasons.

In sport it is essential to set the tone, lay down a marker, start on the front foot. Whistling one past the top of off stump, outer edge of the willow beaten all ends up. Tucking a batsman up by producing a short, rising nut, homing in around rib height. Putting in a crunching tackle, serving an ace, landing the first punch. All acts of stamping authority on a contest.

_{"The first ball of the first Test match"}

This is known from the elite to the grassroots. Ever played Sunday league football? If there is not some rotund keg of a man shouting “straight in lads!” at kick-off, then you are not truly in a Sunday league match.

Club cricket? If there’s not a crabby gloveman behind the stumps giving a volley of verbals to the batsmen, is it really a proper game of cricket?

At Lord’s in 2005, Harmison bulldozed his authority all over Australia. In a hostile opening spell, Harmison rapped Justing Langer on the arm second ball, Matthew Hayden on the helmet soon after and cut Ricky Ponting with a nasty delivery to the grille.

“The nerves are showing already”

The Durham man finished with figures of five for 43 and his name on the honours board as Australia were bowled out for 190. Australia went on to win the Test, but Harmison’s aggression was a signal of intent that England were up for a scrap.

Fast forward to Brisbane, 2006. Same name, same shape, same opponent... different bowler.

It was Langer facing up, Harmison striding in from the Stanley Street end, the first act of a five-Test standoff. The Kookaburra was released from his grasp and there it went... wide, wide, wider, somewhere in the direction of the Brisbane river before landing safely in Freddie’s lap at second slip.

1w000440040040

It was the first delivery of a day that Australia would finish 346 for three and Harmison with figures of one for 123.

Harmison, who was taken off after two overs, said: “I probably couldn't have bowled worse than I did in that opening two-over spell.

“When it came to bowling the first ball, I froze. I let the enormity of the situation get to me. It all seemed so alien to me. My whole body was nervous.”

Words by Owen Riley | @Owen__Riley