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On a slow pitch he showed control hostility and perseverance

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On a slow pitch he showed control, hostility and perseverance. Without him England would have struggled to beat Bangladesh.After this performance, few can doubt that he is now one of the most feared bowlers in the world. Many felt his nine-wicket haul against Bangladesh was a case of the big man bullying the weaker opponent It was not Harmison bowled well in Dhaka. Since his Test debut he has shown glimpses of what he is capable of but these, until now, have occurred far too infrequently.Though he returned home from England's pre-Christmas tour of Bangladesh early with back trouble and missed the tour to Sri Lanka which followed, this has been a career-changing winter for Harmison. Yesterday was the second consecutive occasion on which he has won a Test match for his country. A bowler with his height and pace is going to be a handful for batsmen when he gets it right But getting it right has been Harmison's problem.

Not only was it an occasion he will never forget but it could be the spell which sets England up for their first win in the West Indies for 36 years. A lot can happen before the fourth Test, and the West Indies have come back from dire situations at home in the past, but this performance will take some getting over.Harmison has been an outstanding prospect since he first played for Durham in 1996. He received excellent support from Matthew Hoggard, who claimed the crucial wickets of Brian Lara and Devon Smith ­ the first-innings centurion ­ but this was Harmison's day. This record, unfortunately, still belongs to England who were dismissed for 46 at the Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad in 1994.Running up a gentle slope with the wind behind him Harmison extracted frightening bounce from the pitch. The only consolation for the hosts came when Corey Collymore hacked Simon Jones for two runs through extra cover. These runs saved his side from the embarrassment of being bowled out for the lowest score recorded in the Caribbean.

Harmison's bowling figures are the best at this ground ­ beating Trevor Bailey's 7 for 34 in 1953-54 ­ and the West Indies' total of 47 was the lowest they have ever posted. The Caribbean is a destination where the unimaginable is always likely to happen, and the same goes for the West Indies team, but nobody at Sabina Park would have dreamt it possible for the home side to be blown away in just 132 minutes, and that this match would be over 18 minutes before lunch.When the action is as frantic as this, records are normally broken and this was no exception. Facing bowling of this pace is something West Indian batsmen have become accustomed to but not one of their side looked capable of coping with Harmison. His devastating display turned a game which had been evenly contested for three days into an emphatic 10-wicket victory for England.

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