Moores would welcome Harmison back

Twenty20 / Editor / 01 July 2007 / Leave a Comment

England coach Peter Moores is hoping fast bowler Steve Harmison will reconsider his decision to retire from one-day international cricket.

But the new national chief has insisted he will not go cap in hand to the Durham man.

Harmison retired from limited-over competition to prolong his career in the longer format of the sport, having claimed 67 wickets from his 46 one-day international appearances for England.

But with September's Twenty20 World Championship in mind, for which England are on offer at 9.4 on Betfair's developing tournament winner market, as well as the ICC Trophy next year and the 2011 World Cup in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Moores knows he needs quality reinforcements.

The Three Lions boss has revealed he would welcome Harmison back but that he will not force the player into making a return.
"Steve as a one-day player has got a huge talent because of the pace he can bowl at and the bounce he can create," said Moores.

"I'm not going to force him to play and we'll see what the future holds. He's made his decision and that's where we are at the moment.

"You would like as many players available as possible to select from, especially someone with the quality of Steve Harmison, but I'm not going to force anyone to do anything."