Smith reckons Harmison could be weak link

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, has marked out Steve Harmison as one of England's weak links in the forthcoming Ashes. In an interview to the Telegraph newspaper of England he said, "I said before the series began that he [Harmison] is a big confidence bowler, and because of that we certainly targeted him, as I'm sure Australia will do."

Smith went on to add that Harmison, for all his improvement in recent times, was not all that different from the man he faced about two years ago when England and South Africa last met. "He didn't start well and his confidence levels dropped as the series went on," he said. "It looked to me like he was trying to find something that was missing all the way through. He never really found it. We felt he was pretty much the same bowler we faced two years ago."

But it was not all negative in Smith's report card. "The one thing that did impress me about England on this tour was their resilience," he conceded. "We've often heard stories in the past about batting collapses, and that if you get on top of England they are the type of team to fold. We didn't get that feeling this time, so that is obviously something that has come with winning and with keeping a settled team. We often had them at about 260 for six but we could never quite close the deal. They are a tough team to beat now."

In the end, though, the outlook for England in the Ashes was not particularly bright. "I don't believe you can play conservatively against the Australians and win. You have to take a few risks," said Smith. "I think England's bowling will be OK and the series will boil down to two areas: how the batsmen cope with Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and whether England can stay with Australia at the start of the series. If they don't do either, they've got no chance."