PAUL NEWMAN: No-nonsense Steve Harmison has fast become one of the best pundits in cricket… his criticism of Ben Stokes and England’s lack of preparation for next month’s India tour speaks volumes

Steve Harmison has become one of cricket's top pundits in part because he is not afraid to criticize even those he is closest to.

So one of England's greatest fast bowlers had no qualms about calling out his friend and former Durham teammate Ben Stokes on what he sees as woefully poor preparation for one of the toughest assignments in Test cricket, their upcoming tour of India.

There are no agendas and certainly no nonsense from Harmison. He tells it like he sees it, even if it means calling Stokes and England as they plan to arrive in Hyderabad, an unknown destination for them, just three days before the first Test.

But what we shouldn't forget is that Harmison won't criticize anyone, let alone someone he greatly admires in Stokes, just for the sake of it.

He cares passionately about English cricket and admits he wants the England team to win more now, even than when he played in 63 Tests and became one of the heroes of the legendary 2005 Ashes triumph.

His criticism of friend and former Durham teammate Ben Stokes shows that no one is exempt

That's why he regrets that England 'deserve' to lose 5-0 in India early in the new year, in what was a long and balanced argument last week on the latest episode of his excellent talkSPORT Following On-podcast with Neil Manthorp.

Harmison certainly doesn't want that. Not when, like so many of us, he raves about 'Bazball' and the methods of Stokes and Brendon McCullum that have inspired the exciting transformation of the England Test team.

He just doesn't think they're giving themselves the best chance of pulling off what would be a huge disappointment if they win in India and avenge the 3-1 defeat the last time they were there, which came immediately after two warm-ups ' came. Testing in Sri Lanka.

The point is that while a cricketing genius like Stokes may not want or need warm-up matches or long preparation for a big Test series, apart from the nine days England plan to spend in Abu Dhabi, 'one size', as Harmison puts it it 'doesn't all fit.'

That's why he's concerned about the likes of Jack Leach and Ollie Pope, who will be thrown into a huge series to be played in venues with little history of Test cricket without proper red-ball match practice after recovering from serious injuries. .

Harmison criticized England's woefully poor preparation ahead of their five-Test series in India

England's lack of preparation in the 50-over format hurt them badly at the 2023 World Cup

And as far as I'm concerned, Harmison is right. We saw what a lack of preparation for the over-50s did to England in the run-up to the World Cup. While Stokes and Harmison's testing methods worked on flat pitches in Pakistan last year, India is a completely different story.

Yes, times have changed and the modern cricket calendar has become so packed that it is now almost impossible for players to have long periods of acclimatization at the start of any tour, even one as demanding as India.

But one of the most relevant points Harmison made is that England would never dream of arriving in Australia just three days before the start of an Ashes series, and it's worth remembering how they achieved the greatest overseas triumph of modern times.

In 2010–11, England under Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower made a point of treating their three warm-up matches before the Ashes as a mini-series in themselves.

They played them all as if they were Test matches, devising the 'sprinkler dance' that would become a symbol of their subsequent success during a rain break in a warm-up match in Adelaide, and went on to win three Tests by 30%. innings in a 3-1 win.

The England Test squad will have to be at their best to beat India at home

Harmison (left) lifting the Ashes Urn in 2009 alongside fellow countryman Andrew Flintoff (right)

And when they last won in India in 2012, they again played in three competitive warm-up matches prior to the series, drawing all of them, but more importantly seeing all the members of what was an experienced England squad get the right received competition training.

Stokes and McCullum achieved their success with very different ideas than Strauss and Flower, and that is to be applauded. 'Bazball' has not only breathed new life into England but has the potential, despite Australia's protests, to save Test cricket.

But the fact is that, while England's love of golf and enjoying a healthy social life outside of football under Stokes and McCullum can be seen as integral to their free and attacking approach, they can easily be held against the players if anything goes wrong.

No one wants England to win in India more than Steve Harmison. He passionately and eloquently expressed concerns shared by many.