Harmison warns over pressure

12 April 2012

England paceman Steve Harmison has warned that he fears a player may one day be forced to retire due to the stresses of the international game.

Harmison believes international players are placed under too much pressure and sympathises with team-mate Marcus Trescothick, who this week pulled out of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Harmison told the Mail on Sunday: "It gives me no pleasure to say this, but with the amount of time we are away from home and the amount of cricket we are playing, there is going to be a price to pay and a casualty. Somebody at the height of his powers is going to prematurely lose his career, not through injury but mental stress. I just hope and pray it's not going to be Marcus."

Opening batsman Trescothick will miss next month's tournament in India to continue receiving treatment for a "sensitive medical condition" and his specialists have also revealed he has been suffering from an "underlying stress-related illness".

By the end of next year's World Cup England's top players could have been on duty for up to 300 out of 365 days.

Harmison added: "I have been warning about the pressures, stresses and strains of being away from home playing cricket, in England as well as abroad, and have been criticised for speaking openly about homesickness.

"But people have got to understand we are not robots. We are normal human beings with families and lives back home."

Harmison - missing the current one-day series against Pakistan through injury - has himself been troubled by homesickness on past tours, including Australia, where England play again this winter.

He added: "Some people are made for touring and being away from home and some people aren't. I'm not.

"And although I believe I have found a way to deal with my homesickness and never felt unable to play because of it, I cannot honestly say I won't have down times in Australia."

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