Practice paying off for Harmison, says Hoggard

ADELAIDE, Nov 29 (Reuters) England seamer Matthew Hoggard believes new ball partner Steve Harmison is close to rediscovering his best form after two days of hard practice.

The Durham paceman made a disastrous start to the Ashes series when his first ball veered off the pitch straight to second slip and he finished the first test defeat in Brisbane with figures of 1-177.

Lampooned by the British and Australian media for his erratic display, England's strike bowler has spent the past two days working with bowling coach Kevin Shine and Hoggard said the early results were encouraging.

''He's hitting areas and hitting the bat hard. He says he knows where it's going,'' Hoggard told a news conference today.

''He's saying that he's feeling good and he's feeling that everything's coming out well so I've got full confidence. He thinks he's back to near his best.'' Harmison penned an emotional apology about his performance in his weekly column in a British newspaper, admitting he ''choked'', and Hoggard said he had been just as frank with his team mates, canvassing ideas from them to resolve his problems.

''We talk. It's a very open scenario in the England dressing room. Everybody chats to each other and bounces ideas off everybody else,'' Hoggard said.

''He was asking around and very openly admitted that he didn't bowl well but he's been putting in a lot of work.

''He's been putting in the hard yards and he's feeling good about his bowling. I think we'll see a different Steve Harmison come Friday morning.

MORE SWING Hoggard, who took 2-141 in Brisbane, said Harmison was not the only English bowler who needed to raise his game when the second test starts in Adelaide on Friday.

''You've got to hunt in partnerships. You've got to bat in partnerships and bowl as a team,'' he said.

''That's something that we didn't do well in Brisbane. We didn't bowl as a team and put the pressure on the Australian batsmen.'' The Australians had few troubles dealing with Harmison in Brisbane but opening batsman Matthew Hayden said they expected him to be far more dangerous in Adelaide where the ball swings more.

''The thing about batting is that it's such a reactive game,'' Hayden said.

''As far as the batting side goes you can only bat how they bowl.

''The fact is that he's still a key part of their side and we understand that an know that. He can click and bowl well and we just have to play accordingly to the kind of bowling we face.'' REUTERS AY DS1223