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England v South Africa Test Series: Kiss the turf and swing won't suit Harmison

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There are many reasons for the inclusion of Steve Harmison in England's test side but the Edgbaston pitch is not be one of them, says Ralph Ellis.

Tomorrow's third npower Test at Edgbaston is all about two fast bowlers. We know which Andre Nel will turn up for South Africa - the snarling, aggressive one who roars in and lets it rip at 90mph. But we don't know which Steve Harmison will turn up for England.

This morning's papers carry a fascinating insight into what makes Nel, called into the tourist's team to replace injured Dale Steyn, get fired up. The 30-year-old who has taken 119 wickets in 34 Tests has revealed how he turns himself into another person when he sets off to start his run-up.

The guy is called Gunther, a mad German who lives in the mountains. And Nel, described by his one time Essex team mate Alastair Cook in the Daily Mail as "a really nice guy off the pitch", reveals that he even talks to his alter ego to get him to go to work.

Nel reveals: "I got the idea when I was messing around with our computer guy one day and he said sometimes when I go on to the field I'm like those guys who live up in the mountains in Germany and have a lack of oxygen to the brain. That is Gunther and that is me when I bowl. When he was a kid something went wrong in his mind. As soon as I get thrown the ball it's like a little switch goes in my head - it's time to get aggressive."

So that's South Africa's pace line-up sorted, but what about England? If the selection of the last England team was, in the words of the skipper, "muddled", then this one doesn't look a lot clearer. Harmison is back in the 13 after doing well for Durham, but there's doubt over whether he'll actually play or not. And even more doubt, if he is picked in the starting XI, over whether he'll be effective.

The Mail sets out in statistics the case for and against including the Durham fast bowler. For is his haul of County wickets this season, in particular 41 in eight games at an average of 23.1. But against is his record against the South Africans 9 (18 wickets in nine games at an average 59.55), and at Edgbaston (five in three, average 68.2).

And even more key is the comment from Edgbaston's groundsman Steve Rouse that's buried at the bottom of the Daily Star's cricket piece.

Rouse - and he should know better than anyone - reckons the conditions won't help Harmison. He is quoted: "I don't think whacking it in halfway down here will do you any good. It's always been a 'kiss the turf and get it to swing' wicket. If you whack it in short it will just stand up".

Given that verdict it's hard to see where an England win, priced this morning at [4.6], could possibly come from. And that in turn makes the South Africans more and more likely to win the series - they are now as short as [1.37] to do so. The biggest question is whether Nel and his mates can defy the threat of rain at Edgbaston to wrap up a victory within the five days. The draw is [2.16] favourite, and that could be worth laying in the hope of quick wickets falling on the first day.

Five things you might not know about Steve Harmison

1. Born in Ashington, Durham, as a teenager he played football for his local side before deciding to concentrate on cricket - he says now he'd only swop sports if Kevin Keegan asked him to join Newcastle!

2. He's just become a dad for the fourth time. He and wife Hayley are the proud parents of little Charlie to go with their daughters Emily, Abbie and Isabel

3. He once bowled seven consecutive wides in an over in the first match of an England tour to Australia

4. His bowling "hero" was Australia's Glenn McGrath - because of his consistency of line and length.

5. His one-day hat trick against India at Trent Bridge was the 19th by an England player

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