Yorkshire loan star Steve Harmison eyes Durham future (From York Press)

Yorkshire loan star Steve Harmison eyes Durham future

1:40pm Thursday 12th July 2012 in Sport By Chris Parrott

STEVE HARMISON has revealed that he hasn’t ruled out leaving Durham on a permanent basis if he can’t force his way back into the county’s plans.

However, ahead of his Yorkshire debut at Hampshire this week, the on-loan fast bowler insists he still has a “burning desire” to be successful at the Riverside.

The former England star was asked whether his future might lie away from the north-east if he continues to be on the fringes of the Durham first-team.

He answered: “Possibly, yeah. But, there’s other things going on.”

“I still want to play cricket for Durham. I still have the burning desire and the hunger to play cricket for my home county.

“I’d have gone anywhere to play first-class competitive cricket though and hopefully that proves to everybody that Steven Harmison still wants to play cricket – and that he still wants to play for Durham more than anything else.”

Harmison’s long-term future at the Riverside has been called into question ever since his one-month move to Headingley was announced at the weekend.

He’s only played three first-team matches for Durham in 2012, with it also notable that his departure came within days of Paul Collingwood being named as the county’s new captain.

As someone who is proud of his north-east heritage, the two-time Ashes winner added that it does feel strange to be playing cricket for another team.

He admitted: “I’ve done a few things this year that I didn’t foresee myself doing in the cricketing world.

“I’ve played a lot of second-team cricket and now I’m playing for Yorkshire! I guess they say it’s a funny game and a funny world.

“I feel like I’m a proud man and an honest person though, so if I’ve got a shirt on that has given me the chance to play, I’ll do everything I possibly can for that chance.

“I’ve not played cricket for two years properly and it’s frightening how much you miss it.

“I’ve probably got two or three years left in the game, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.

“The only thing I’ve ever been able to do is play cricket and it’s one thing being frustrated not playing cricket when you’re injured, but when you’re not playing cricket because of the weather or because you’re not being picked, it’s doubly frustrating.”