Homesick Harmison's winter blues

By Paresh Soni

He shouldn't have gone Brian Close on Steve Harmison

Rapid developments in international travel and more sympathetic management have made cricket tours considerably less arduous than they used to be.

But some modern players still long to return to home comforts and loved ones.

Some would rather not go at all, such as Steve Harmison.

The England paceman has made no secret of the fact that he prefers the familiarity of Ashington to foreign pastures.

But Harmison's revelation that he would have gladly returned home on 2 December - the day England arrived in South Africa - has raised eyebrows.

"Everybody knows I would go home at any time but that is just me and my character," he said before the fourth one-day international at Cape Town.

The same player, who took 23 wickets in the Caribbean last year, has looked out of sorts recently, with the homesickness which blighted the early days of his international career taking grip again.

So how should the England management handle a player like that?

Brian Close and Mike Gatting, two former England captains with plenty of air and sea miles behind them, have differing views about the issue.

Close's first overseas mission was the trip to Australia in 1950-51, a real baptism of fire for the Yorkshireman.

Then a 19-year-old, he barely featured during the tour Down Under, but Close insists he only has fond memories of the experience.

For us there was the old saying: 'Leave your wives behind and bring the Ashes home' Brian Close

"I loved every minute of touring. In 1950 we set off in September for Australia and didn't get back until April," he told BBC Sport.

"There was so much to enjoy out there. I went to South Africa, Pakistan and India and we all got stuck in. I loved it."

Close, renowned as a tough competitor on the field, has little sympathy for Harmison, and says the current England team has advantages his colleagues could only dream about.

"He shouldn't have gone. Harmison and his team-mates should think themselves lucky - they get paid," he added.

"In those days we didn't have wives with us. Now they have their wives and girlfriends. For us, there was the old saying: 'Leave your wives behind and bring the Ashes home'."

But Gatting says Harmison "shouldn't be lambasted" for admitting his reluctance to tour with England, and believes that team-mates like close friend Andrew Flintoff have a vital role to play.

"Steve would rather come home, and he has a history of not wanting to be out there," he told BBC Sport.

"But we have to work with it. In many respects it's about having someone there who you are comfortable with.

"I'm sure if Freddie had stayed out there, he could have helped him through it.

"We all get homesick from time to time and would rather be at home when things are not going well, but we have to cope with it and talk to mates."

When you play a Test series like the one they've just had any sensible person would say they'd like to come home Mike Gatting

The former Middlesex batsman was happy to go on tour but says spending long periods of time away from home got to him too.

"There were times when I felt it would be nicer to be at home, but fortunately for me they were few and far between," he explained.

"If we had had our wives out there and had their hotels paid for it would have been easier for us.

"We had to pay for their accommodation and their food and didn't get paid quite as well, so for us it was more down to economic reasons. People have bad tours - you just hope you can get through them."

Gatting believes fatigue is also a factor behind Harmison's current state of mind and that England's itinerary is to blame.

Harmison said last week that he wished he had failed a fitness Test before the Newlands one-dayer.

But Gatting refuses to criticise him, adding: "The point should be noted that when you play a Test series like the one they've just had any sensible person would say they'd like to come home.

"It was horrendous, the worst in history, with Tests back-to-back and then seven one-day games straight after.

"We used to play the one-dayers before the Tests. It's very difficult to play three one-day games after a Test series, let alone seven."