Donald: Harmison will be back

Allan Donald has insisted that Steve Harmison's best form is just around the corner,and stressed that England's spearhead remains a world class fast bowler in spite of his recent inconsistency.

Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, has been hired by Peter Moores for a five-week consultancy stint to try to mould them into a more consistent unit. Without Andrew Flintoff and Matthew Hoggard, two of England's most accurate and consistent bowlers, the side has relied upon Harmison and Liam Plunkett. Both have struggled with their control, but Donald is confident that he will be able to help.

"I've asked the technical guys to put together some comparisons from when he was bowling well, right up until now," Donald said after England's training session at Old Trafford. "At this stage I am just going to observe and take it from there.

"I was a rhythm bowler and I see Harmy as a rhythm bowler as well. Sometimes, if there is something missing in your action, it just won't click. I am convinced that, as the season goes on, it won't take him long to get back to his best."

After Harmison's disastrous Ashes winter, it was feared he may never regain the form which made him one of the world's most deadly bowlers, but he responded encouragingly with 24 early-season wickets for Durham. However, yet again he struggled in the Tests and has only picked up six wickets in the first two matches against West Indies.

"It's not that he is out of form right now, it's just that every now and again he has been a little bit inconsistent," Donald insisted. "He is a quality, world-class bowler and some high-class players who have faced him have spoken very highly of him, so there is no problem - he will be back.

"There's no question that Harmy knows what he can do for the team and the team know what he can do. It may just take two or three wickets in the first session on Thursday and he is back.

"I want to make it clear, I don't think he is out of form, but he is a confidence bowler, like I was, and I needed to bowl a lot to become confident," he said. "Sometimes you get to a ground and you just fancy the look of it, you fancy the end you are bowling from. I watched that match against Pakistan last year and Harmy got some nasty bounce and wasn't a pleasant bloke to face."

The third Test against West Indies gets underway on Thursday at Old Trafford.