CRICKET: The last time a bowler suffered the type of excruciating surfeit of wides endured by Steve Harmison here yesterday, he was sacked and never played senior cricket again.
Harmison will not be shunned in the manner of Scott Boswell after his nightmare playing for Leicestershire against Somerset at Lord's last year. Quite the opposite. England will do everything they can to ensure Harmison's confidence does not evaporate.
England's opening match of their tour against the ACB Chairman's XI might have been only a festival occasion, and, in his defence, Harmison was suffering from concussion after he banged his head while attempting to field the ball. But it was still a humiliating experience for an international bowler. It was difficult to know whether to laugh or cry - most of the 10,000 crowd, sympathetic Aussies that they were, chose to roar with mirth.
Harmison's errant radar was typical of England's problems as they succumbed by 58 runs. The Durham paceman bowled 16 wides in seven overs and eight of them came in his fourth over, which lasted for 14 deliveries. Seven were in successive balls.
Harmison was not alone in failing to locate an accurate line - Matthew Hoggard's first two balls of the match were both wides and England generally bowled poorly. But when Ashley Giles captured three wickets in three overs and the Chairman's XI slipped to 122 for five in the 26th over, such waywardness did not appear as though it would matter.
Then, however, England were taken apart by Kade Harvey, a fringe all-rounder with Western Australia who has never made a century for the state.
Harvey tore into England's bowling, mixing power and timing and frequently taking the aerial route. His innings of 114 took only 88 balls and included six sixes.
The Chairman's XI captain, Mike Hussey, who enjoyed another prolific season for Northamptonshire, scored 69 and the home team progressed to 301 for seven in 50 overs.
When Marcus Trescothick was quickly caught at point and, three balls later, Mark Butcher clipped to square leg, England's chances looked remote.
Robert Key and Hussain produced a string of boundaries during their partnership of 125 in 21 overs for the third wicket. But after Hussain missed an attempted slog and Key skied to midwicket, it was clear England would fall some way short.
Alec Stewart scored 35, but he could not maintain the run-rate. Brad Hogg took five of the last six wickets with his left-arm chinamen.
Meanwhile, Shane Warne took an Australian record 27 wickets during the three-Test duel with Pakistan which finished with another Aussie rout yesterday.
After making 444 all out, Australia then bowled Pakistan out for 221 and 203 after enforcing the follow-on, taking the final two wickets in less than 10 overs.
