England Get To Know Their Onions

The selectors, in my opinion were correct not to turn to the Ashington Express again so soon after he failed to shine in the West Indies.

He is better left at Durham where he will, like last year, gradually build up his form in surroundings which are suited to getting the best out of him.

If he bowls like he did last summer, the bottom line is Harmison still gives England something unique, raw pace and extra bounce which makes him impossible to ignore and the selectors know it. The problem, as ever, is getting him to do it consistently.

You can say what you like about Harmison, and I was as disappointed as anyone with the way he bowled over the winter given the stunning performances he had given the previous summer when he had forced the selectors to pick him again, but he will not begrudge Onions' call-up.

He will be genuinely happy for him and that says much about the role he has at Durham. He has helped mentor Onions for the last five or six years and, as Onions once again stole the show against Somerset with 6-31 this week, there was no hint of jealousy.

However, I do expect it to give him a bit of a jolt. Onions is a player he has, when available for his county, often kept out of the starting XI at the Riverside. Now the same player has pushed him out of the England side. That is tough to take and I don't expect Harmison, at 30, to accept the changing of the guard just yet.

In that respect, the selection was an inspired one. It will give the England coaching staff the opportunity to have a close look at Onions and for the player to test himself at a higher level, where his skiddy style and ability to move the ball off the seam will cause problems to a side like the West Indies.

But it will also light a fire under Harmy's backside, which, with the Australians arriving this summer will hopefully ensure England's one genuine fast bowler is in peak condition and form when the team for the First Ashes Test is announced in a couple of months time.

Who knows, and this would be bad news for Durham in their bid to retain the County Championship, but Onions and Harmison may be playing together for England by then.