HAD Durham not achieved first-class status, the chances are that Stephen Harmison would never have left Ashington.

That's a view supported by Geoff Cook, who has been Durham's Director of Cricket throughout their 12-year first-class history.

Although he modestly plays down his part in the development of England's new hero, there is a view that had Cook not persevered with Harmison back in 1997 he could have been lost to the game.

He made his Durham debut in the last championship match of the 1996 season, against Leicestershire at Riverside, aged 17.

That was his first experience of bowling to a West Indian as Phil Simmons plundered 171 and Harmison emerged with none for 77 from nine overs as Durham lost by an innings and 251 runs.

Nothing was heard of him the next season as a back injury restricted him to playing for Ashington seconds as a batsman. But Cook stayed resolutely on his case.

"It was a question of keeping him interested and letting him know that we were still very keen on him," said Cook.

"I first saw him playing for Northumberland against Durham at under 17 level and I went to watch him quite a few times. He was not the archetypal England bowler because he had a gangly action, but he could bowl from a big height at a strong rate. The ingredients were there, so then it became a question of desire."

Harmison's desire has often been questioned, starting when he came back from an England Under 19 tour to Pakistan after a week, partly because he was homesick.

But Cook feels he has always had the ambition, it was just a question of persuading himself that he had to look beyond the confines of Ashington and the North-East to realise the potential which saw him take seven for 12 in Jamaica.

The figures were all the more astonishing because he has taken five or more wickets in a first-class innings only five times for Durham, with a best of six for 111 against Sussex at Riverside in 2001.

"He was very comfortable in his own environment," said Cook. "But he has accepted that you have to bite the bullet to move on. Hats off to him - he has really done that. He has pushed his chest out and gone into areas he was not comfortable in.

"I think the realisation was there that he had something different. There have been a few backward steps, but people showing faith in him has been a big factor in his development.

"England have shown faith in him and so have we, and he has responded to that. All credit to him, because no-one can under-estimate the challenge he has had to face."

Harmison was awarded a full Durham contract in 1998 and took 51 first-class wickets, which he increased to 64 the following season.

Then injuries began to interfere and he missed an England A tour, but such was the determination to harness his raw pace that he was included in the England squad for the first three Tests of 2000.

He didn't get a game and on his return to Durham his accuracy had obviously suffered - something which continued to afflict him until early last year, when he bowled 11 wides in a one-day match against Australia.

Three months earlier he had bowled 16 wides, including seven in succession, at Lilac Hill in Perth.

So how has he suddenly developed the accuracy to get the most out of his pace and disconcerting bounce?

Cook believes simple physical maturity has much to do with it, saying: "When Norman Gifford was coaching at Durham he always said that by the time he was 24 or 25 Stephen would be a really good bowler because he would be physically strong enough to hold his action together.

"Once you start to bowl more and more balls accurately you can start to concentrate on getting people out.

"I'm not sure that the winter he spent with the first England Academy group made him a better bowler, but for all the lads who go through that sort of existence it's an eye-opening experience.

"In his group he was one of the few who the management felt had the potential to do well in international cricket, and knowing that was a terrific boost for him.

"At Durham we have a lot like him who get involved in cricket after coming from tough backgrounds.

"When they come through it's very satisfying. But don't give me the credit. He deserves it all himself."