Missing ingredient: Harrison's bowling lacks fire

London: Nobody should take any pleasure or satisfaction from seeing the final curtain come down on Steve Harmison's international career. It is always sad when any talented player drops out of the limelight, but you do not need to be a selector to work out that there is no way back from here.

I think that Harmison will look back on his career — as will we all — and see an unfulfilled talent. He has always had the tools to be a fantastic fast bowler. He has got height, pace and bounce. What more do you need? Curtly Ambrose and Joel Garner terrorised the world with those very same qualities. But Harmison has been like a shooting star, showing flashes of brilliance and then fading away.

His best spell came five years ago in the West Indies. He went to the top of the rankings on the back of that tour, earning the title of the No 1 bowler in the world. Since then, he has never failed to disappoint. All the time, we former players and the public have been waiting and hoping for the magic to return. We all know that when Harmison was good he was very, very good, but when he was bad he was poor. So often he has left us all flat, disappointed, frustrated, and wanting more. Above all, we found ourselves wondering: "Where did all that talent go?"

Track record

He has always said that he tried and gave his best, and I have got no reason to disbelieve him. It would be insulting and disrespectful to question his commitment, but I always felt there was one ingredient missing — real fire in the belly. The records do not lie. They never do. Over seven years, he took 226 wickets at a shade under 32 runs apiece. Ambrose and Garner both averaged under 21 runs per wicket. There is the difference. We have heard so much talk about Harmison, even over the last season.

Ho-hum

People say that he has got the X-factor, and that batsmen do not like facing him. Unfortunately, that menace has not translated itself into results. All right, so he was on a hat-trick against Australia's tailenders on the last day of the Ashes series, but his overall contribution was ho-hum.

He played in one victory and one defeat. The bulk of the work was done without him in the side. It has got to the point where England have taken a view. They have a new captain in Andrew Strauss, and more importantly a new coach in Andy Flower. I am guessing that the two Andrews must have felt that they — and England — had been here too many times before. The fact that Harmison had made it clear that he would not be available for the Ashes series in Australia next winter might just have tipped them over the edge.

I like this selection panel because they are decisive and clear thinking. People might feel that Harmison, or Ravi Bopara for that matter, have been treated harshly, but there is no room for sentiment in international sport.