Steve Harmison, one of England’s Ashes-winning heroes in 2005, was a force to be reckoned with at his peak, climbing to the top of the Test bowling rankings in 2004. Tanya Aldred profiled the fast bowler when he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year the following year.

Steve Harmison played his 63rd and last Test as England regained the Ashes at The Oval in 2009. He took 226 wickets at 31.82

He is a shy homebody with gangling limbs and a Newcastle United season ticket. But hand him a cricket ball and his limbs are awkward only to batsmen, bringing pace, bounce, height and menace. In 2004 Steve Harmison became England’s keenest weapon in a generation. But what changed him from an unproven bowler of dubious backbone and fitness to Grievous Bodily Harmison (The Sun), not even he can pinpoint.

The second innings of the first Test at Sabina Park was his epiphany. On a March morning, with the disco booming and the home crowd waiting for some batting pyrotechnics, he was awesome. Six slips and a gully watched as his feet thudded into the Jamaican earth, and ball after ball spat off the spot – in less than two hours he had seven for 12, and West Indies had been humiliated. His confidence, a precarious thing, soared.

He played for Durham without much enthusiasm, just the thought that it couldn’t be any worse than the few turns he’d done as a labourer. He was plagued by injuries, but people began to see real potential hidden behind his chestnut curtains of hair. England first included him in a squad in 2000 but it was not until August 2002 that, nervous as you like and “a flimsy six foot five”, he made his debut against India at Trent Bridge.

His England progress was on and off, much like his radar. On his bowling debut in Australia he served up seven wides in a row against the ACB Chairman’s team. Over the course of nine consecutive Tests he was nearly always fast, usually hostile, and sometimes accurate – and by the end of the 2003 summer bowled with real fire against South Africa at The Oval.

He certainly benefited from the tight-knit culture of the current England team – a set-up that gives people chances and the opportunity to grow into their role. The longer he was involved, the more relaxed he felt, and the more relaxed he felt, the better he bowled. And he knows now he is lucky: “If I hadn’t had cricket I wouldn’t like to think what I’d have done.”

It is not always easy. The South African tour of 2004/05 was very trying, and the confidence disappeared again. This time, there is a real belief that it will return. The homesickness is, if anything, getting worse, though. He misses his two young daughters. He does not like leaving the North-East. But he knows that he has to do it if he wants to be No.1. And he does want that.