Harmison calls it a day, too

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.

Two and A Half Retirements

This week, three loyal servants to domestic cricket announced their retirements. Mike Powell was one of Glamorgan's best batsmen for a decade or so, securing a regular opener's spot after Hugh Morris hung up his boots before proceeding to notch more than 10,000 runs for the county. His 299 made in 2006 remains the second highest individual innings for Glamorgan. Like many batsmen, he had a few injury problems but after rib surgery a blood clot not only threatened his career but also his life. He bounced back but his county dropped him in 2011 only for Kent to pick him up. He wasn't an ever-present in 2012 but nevertheless averaged 40-odd. This summer, despite Kent languishing near the foot of Division Two, Powell has been relegated to the Seconds so maybe his decision to call it a day at 36 is no surprise.

Matthew Hoggard's retirement has received more coverage, thanks to his record for England and in particular his contribution to the 2005 Ashes triumph. Just a month older than Powell, Hoggy was an archetypal burly, chest-on swing merchant who took more than 1000 wickets in senior cricket, 280 of them for his country. Along with Darren Gough and Craig White, he formed part of an excellent trio of Yorkshire quicks who also represented England with distinction. Like Powell, he left his home county in the past few years, skippering Leicestershire to T20 glory in 2011 but making little impression this year as the county has bumped along the bottom of the Championship. Will a career in awful celebrity shows beckon? A Strictly Come Dancing stint, perhaps? I'd rather think he could do a more useful job in cricket coaching!

The other announcement wasn't of a complete departure from cricket, although Simon Jones' self-advert as a world-class T20 specialist looks a trifle optimistic. One of the top fast bowlers in the mid-2000s, a horrendous sequence of injuries wrecked his international career just as it was becoming a great one. Indeed, Trent Bridge 2005 was to witness the last of his 18 Tests. In that game he took 5-44 then bowled only four overs in the Aussies' second innings. That was that. The man from Morriston, Swansea attempted more comebacks than Sinatra, for various brave counties, but continued to break down. Watching Glamorgan win their YB40 semi-final last week was quite exhilarating but slightly sad when watching Jones amble in for a few uninspiring overs. The Jones of old would have been called upon to deliver the final balls to finish off Hampshire but the 2013 vintage was not risked.

Simon Jones' last Test was also the first played by Shaun Tait who is perhaps the best known T20 mercenary. He has 109 matches under his belt and 143 wickets captured around the world, from Big Bash and FL to IPL. The Welshman has played a mere 35 in the last decade, claiming only 43 victims. I can see the appeal of raking in the dollars and bowling a mximum of four overs every now and again. However, what franchise would come a-calling for an injury-prone bowler eight years past his best? Let's just remember him in his prime, tearing into one of the best batting line-ups of the past thirty years alongside Flintoff, Hoggard and Harmison.

Speaking of which, Ashington's finest hasn't exactly enjoyed a successful benefit season on the pitch. Like Jones, he went from hero to zero quickly, although that notorious super-wide Down Under did for him rather than a bad knee. Harmison remained with Durham in the lean times before venturing across the border to Yorkshire. This year, he made the return journey but his appearances have been restricted to a handful of 2nd XI games. Can the big man's departure be far away That really would close the chapter on England's great Ashes bowling quartet.