A few weeks ago, I wrote about the retirements of Matthew Hoggard and (almost) Simon Jones, and speculated about whether fellow 2005 Ashes hero Steve Harmison might join them. After all, his beloved Durham had loaned him out to Yorkshire at the tail end of 2012 and, even as his county won their third County Championship, Harmy didn't play at all. So this week's announcement was hardly a surprise.
It was typical of the man that he supposedly named his title wins with Durham as his greatest achievements and he certainly played a large role in the 2008 and 2009 triumphs, leading a formidable attack featuring this year's star player Graeme Onions and Liam Plunkett. However, it is his performances alongside Messrs Flintoff, Hoggard and Jones for England in the mid-2000s which will define his career amongst he majority of cricket fans.
Never the smoothest of seam bowlers, he nevertheless generated a fearsome pace. His 63 Tests spanned almost exactly seven years. It started in August 2002 with a drawn game against India (3-57 and 2-63), his first wicket being Ajit Agarkar. It came to a more successful end as he claimed three of the last four wickets to fall in the Ashes-clinching Oval match in 2009.
In between there were lots of magic moments. As someone who is a self-confessed poor traveeler, it is no shock to discover that most of his 226 Test wickets came on English soil, averaging under 29 apiece. However, his most startling stats were produced at Sabina Park, Jamaica in March 2004. His 7-12 in 39 balls destroyed Lara's West Indies and confirmed Harmison as the world's leading bowler. His 6-61 in the very next innings led to another defeat of the home team.
Of course, it is his status as one of the Fearsome Foursome that will stay with him wherever he goes, even if he was probably only number three in the pecking order eight summers ago. Nevertheless, he went from hero to zero several months later when he bowled That Wide, surely the worst ball ever to launch a Test campaign, which set the scene for a humilating reverse for England Down Under. In ten Tests in Australia, he managed a mere 23 wickets at an average of more than 50!
However, taking his career as a whole, few men these days take 744 first-class wickets, at a reasonable average of 28. He was a bit too erratic for one-day brilliance although he could still soften up the best of batsmen with a blend of nose-tickling short stuff and toe bruising yorkers in between the boundaries. It's a shame that the halcyon period at the top of the tree should have been so brief. Harmison, Jones and Flintoff were all plagued by injuries so that England's 2005 stars never played together again. Anderson and Broad were in the ascendancy as Steve bowed out four years ago, but there was still time to thrill Durham crowds for a few more seasons.
A great player and, as an articulate and affable pundit, one whose voice I'm sure will continue to be heard around cricket in the future.
