Steve Harmison would leave bowler David Willey out of his squad for the Cricket World Cup – but it would be with a heavy heart.
England name their 15-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday morning and Harmison says the selectors face a ‘ridiculous’ decision.
They have a plethora of quality seam bowlers to choose from and the emergence of Jofra Archer means someone is likely to miss out.
Harmison explains why, for him, it would be Willey.
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“I wouldn’t like to say. It’s a ridiculous decision,” the former England star told talkSPORT.
“It’s like having Manchester City’s squad. If you’ve got 20 fit players, how do you get them into an 18-man FA Cup final squad?
“I personally would go without David Willey, which is harsh because I think he’s done really well for England.
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“But I think Jofra Archer has to be in the squad and I think David Willey – what he gives you up front – England have those bases covered.
“Chris Woakes got a five-wicket haul yesterday, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have extra pace. I think they just shade it.
“It will be so harsh on David because he’s done brilliantly for England. But you can only take 15.”
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England are genuine favourites as they get ready to host the tournament, which begins on May 30 when Eoin Morgan’s side take on South Africa at The Oval.
Their preparations couldn’t have gone better, with yesterday’s 54-run victory over Pakistan sealing a 4-0 series whitewash.
And Harmison says the only thing stopping them from a first ever World Cup triumph is themselves.
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“The biggest danger to England would possibly be themselves, when they think they’ve done enough,” he added.
“The way this side is led by Morgan and Bayliss, they’re pretty switched on. They’re ruthless when they get into winning positions.
“India will be superb, I think Australia will be a force and my outside bet would be New Zealand. I think that might be the semi-final four [including England].”
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The former fast bowler also reckons we could see record-breaking totals at the World Cup.
England currently boast the highest-ever ODI total – 481 against Australia at Trent Bridge last summer – and Harmison believes someone will post 500 sooner or later.
“I don’t think it’s a case of whether they can score 400. Can somebody score 500 at this World Cup?” said Harmison.
“I think somebody could. The grounds are small. There are two or three games at Taunton.
“You’ll see a lot of scores of 400s. Will we see 500? I’m not sure, but we’re not far off.”