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28 July
2008 England
Looking For Quick Fix South Africa
coach Mickey Arthur believes England will be going
for "a quick fix" if they recall Steve Harmison for
the third npower Test at Edgbaston, as reported by
Ladbrokes. Harmison could
make his first international appearance since being
axed along with Matthew Hoggard after the first
Test of the winter series in New
Zealand. The selectors put
faith in Stuart Broad and James Anderson in opting
for younger blood during the home series with the
Black Caps and the opening two Tests with the
Proteas as they build towards next summer's
Ashes. But now Harmison
has been brought back into the squad as England
look to avoid a home series defeat against South
Africa for the first time since they were
reintroduced to the international fold in the
mid-1990s. Arthur said: "I
don't know what England's plans are. If they were
planning down the line for the Ashes, they would
probably be going with the young pack. If they are
desperate and looking for a win right now, they
might go back to a quick fix. I don't know the team
structure and what the vision is for the team. That
is up to them." England admitted
their plans were "confused" during the 10-wicket
defeat at Headingley and Arthur is waiting to see
how a Harmison recall would affect the balance of
their line-up. But he is
expecting Harmison's Durham team-mate Paul
Collingwood to be recalled after the all-rounder
was axed for the Leeds mauling. Arthur said: "But
I did expect changes by England. Collingwood is a
superb player and by all accounts Harmison seems to
be bowling really well. Whichever way they go, they
are bringing in two experienced players. I'd be
very surprised if Collingwood didn't play. That
would surprise me. It is just how they fit Harmison
into the team. Do they risk going with one less
batter with Tim Ambrose at six and Andrew Flintoff
at seven and a long tail starting at eight? Or do
they go with Collingwood at six, Flintoff at seven
and Ambrose at eight and a bit less on the bowling
front but more of a strong batting line-up? That is
their decision." Arthur is
expecting a backlash from England but senses a
determination in the South African squad to
preserve their advantage in the series - something
they failed to achieve in 1998 and 2003 in this
country. He said: "We
expect a better performance from England. They are
going to come out firing and harder. They will have
been hurt by the criticism they received and we
expect them to come out firing. We will need our
'A' game in place out there in the middle to
counter that. But it makes us stronger because
there are a lot of guys in our dressing room who
have held leads over England here and haven't
finished it off. This time they are determined to
make the lead count." South Africa
skipper and opening batsman Graeme Smith sat out
Monday's training session at Edgbaston but the
Proteas insist they have no fresh injury worries
and expect the left-hander to take part in practice
on Tuesday. Andre Nel is set
to be part of the attack in place of Dale Steyn,
who is ruled out with a thumb injury. Bet now at
Ladbrokes |
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