England must pick Harmison

London: Steve Harmison should be playing in the Ashes irrespective of whether Andrew Flintoff is fit.

That is the view of Dale Benkenstein, Harmison's team-mate and former captain at Durham, a man who has seen more of the fast bowler than anyone else for two years.

"He's far better than any of the bowlers they have got there," Benkenstein, said on Monday after Harmison had been called into England's squad for the Lord's Test as cover for Flintoff, who is suffering pain in his right knee.

"If you want someone to win you matches he's done it before. I know that he can look out of sorts. But he is bowling well, he is confident, he is desperate to play and I just cannot believe that he is not playing."

Harmison played against Australia for the England Lions at Worcester recently and took six wickets, including that of opening batsman Phillip Hughes twice, in the match.

His brutal deconstruction of Hughes's quirky technique showed England's bowlers how to do it, a line of inquiry that they eventually pursued with success in Cardiff.

His lack of fitness on England's two winter tours, as well as some ordinary performances, have counted against him this summer, but Benkenstein said his quality should override those misgivings.

"I just think England go about things quite strangely," he said. "They get caught up with too much theory. There are too many things that go on that are not cricket-related. I just don't understand why they don't look after him and make sure that he's happy. It should be their job to keep him happy and positive rather than knocking him down.

"You want guys who are going to get wickets and guys who are going to get runs and he is the most feared bowler in England. You ask any batsman on the county circuit who they don't want to face and it's him. You could even ask half the Australia side and they will say the same thing."

England's selectors said yesterday that Harmison had been included only as a like-for-like replacement for Flintoff, though that sounded more like wishful thinking.

Although the pair are both tall and can bowl around the 90mph mark, if you take Flintoff out of the side, more than just one role is affected. Conditions at Lord's have not sustained two England spinners in well over a decade, so Graham Onions would have replaced either Monty Panesar or Graeme Swann anyway.

But Harmison for Flintoff would bring Stuart Broad up to No. 7, a lengthening of the tail that would place even greater emphasis on the need for England's negligent batsmen not to give their wickets away.