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Arthur - England look Harm-less
South Africa coach surprised and relieved by paceman's omission
Last updated: 23rd October 2009 
Harmison: England axe
He was the one England bowler who could rough us up...He would have been a very awkward proposition.
Mickey Arthur
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Mickey Arthur believes England's selectors have made a mistake by leaving Steve Harmison at home for the tour of South Africa.
Harmison was overlooked for the four-Test series this winter despite playing in the final two matches of England's successful Ashes campaign.
And Proteas coach Arthur feels the Durham paceman's high action and steepling bounce would have proved a handful on South African pitches.
"He was the one England bowler who could rough us up," Arthur told the Daily Mail.
"If they're trying to build a team for the next Ashes and Harmison isn't going to be there, I can see why they've done it.
"But a few of our batters will have seen that tour party and been pretty happy he's not on the plane - especially with our wickets, which will have plenty of pace and bounce.
"He would have been a very awkward proposition."
Johnson comparison
South Africa lost their most recent home series 2-1 to Australia in February, when they failed to handle Mitchell Johnson's pace.
Johnson may have struggled to impose himself on the slower pitches in England during the Ashes, but he was a force in South Africa where he claimed 16 wickets at an average of 25.
"We saw how dangerous Mitchell Johnson was against us on both Australian and South African wickets, because his stock ball - back of a length - was getting rib high on bouncy tracks and hitting batsmen under the heart," Arthur added.
"In England, he wasn't helped by the slow pitches, but Harmison could have done the same thing as Johnson out here."
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Comments (3)
Matt H says...
It's just talk. On these so-called "helpful" pitches, Harmison averaged over 70 on the 2004 tour. And the most successful bowlers on SA pitches in recent years have mainly been swing bowlers. We saw the ball nipping around a lot of one of the CT pitches, but we didn't see much bounce on either pitch.
Posted 18:55 23rd October 2009
Alex Downey says...
The ECB have got it wrong. Steve is a weapon and can blast opposition batting line ups out. England will struggle to take 20 South African wickets this winter which means we will struggle to win test matches. As Mickey Arthur said "Our batsmen are pleased Harmy will not be boarding the plane this winter" and thats the coach of the best team in the world go figure.
Posted 18:25 23rd October 2009
Paul Phillips says...
What will it take for the selectors to change their way of thinking. Whats wrong with going along with all the other countries plans and selecting the best squad for a particular tour/series. Yes Harmy has had his dips in form, but so have most world-class bowlers, looks at Mitch Johnson at the start of the Ashes, he was shocking but the aussies stuck by him cos they knew he is a strike bowler and yes he will go for some runs but who cares as long as he takes wickets which he did at the end of the tour! When Harmy's on form he will destroy any batting attack and more importantly the batsman fear a bowler like Harmy. Also i would like to point out that Rashid, depending on the pitch should almost play in every test and one day matches for england! leave him in there for a few years and you will see how good he will get. Just look at Vettori for NZ, he was shocking when he first started his international career and because they STUCK with him now look at him, one of the, if not best all-rounders of the last 10 -15 years, plus a very good skipper. Come on selectors, sort yourselves out, pick our strongest team and let us dominate the game we invented!!!!
Posted 17:27 23rd October 2009