Former England cricketer Steve Harmison to manage hometown football club Ashington

Harmison to work in football management; his friend Flintoff had earlier tried his hand at boxing

Former England cricketer and two-time Ashes winner Steve Harmison will try his hand at football management after being named the manager of Northern League Division One side Ashington.

Harmison, primarily a fast bowler, played 63 tests and 58 ODIs for the Three Lions before retiring in 2013. He will now be taking charge of his hometown club, who are languishing in the ninth tier of English football. He will work in tandem alongside head coach Lee Skinner and Lee Anderson.

Ashington chairman, Ian Lavery, said on the club’s official website, “All three have a wealth of experience in the sporting world and together can build on the success that Ashington Football Club have had since moving to Woodhorn Lane.”

Interestingly, the 36-year-old played in central defence for the club till he was in his late teens, before leaving football for cricket altogether.

Harmison’s first match in charge will be away at Bishop Auckland on Tuesday. Ashington are currently 17th out of the 22 teams in the division and suffered a 4-0 defeat to Marske United at the weekend.

He will be following in the footsteps of his former team-mate Andrew Flintoff in venturing into a non-cricketing sport after retirement. Flintoff tried out boxing after retiring in 2010.