England captain Michael Vaughan retains complete faith in his mis-firing fast bowler Stephen Harmison - and insists Australia will be the team under most pressure to deliver in this year's Ashes.

Vaughan's belief in former world number one bowler Harmison's capabilities are undimmed by the Durham paceman's miserable winter in South Africa.

Harmison, who averaged more than 60 runs a wicket in both England's Test series victory and 4-1 limited-overs defeat, suffered a calf injury soon after Christmas and once again succumbed to his regular homesick affliction.

But speaking in the March edition of the Wisden Cricketer, Vaughan makes it clear he will not countenance taking on the Aussies without Harmison in his side.

''Maybe he bowled a yard too short but he was getting players out with those deliveries last year,'' said the captain.

''I wouldn't even consider not having him in the team.''

Vaughan knows from his own experience - as a batsman who hit the heights with a glut of runs the last time England faced Australia - that form can be temporary even for the best performers.

He has no doubt either that Harmison will prove yet again the old adage about the permanence of class and he has great confidence in his team's ability to raise their game as they take on the old enemy in the second half of the 2005 season.

''It's a summer I'm looking forward to, because we're playing against the best team there has ever been,'' he said.

''I shall certainly tell my team that if they can't go into that with the same sense of excitement they shouldn't be there. There's certainly only one team under maximum pressure and that's them.''

England need to buck a sequence of Ashes defeats stretching back eight series over 18 years.

But since Vaughan took over the captaincy from Nasser Hussain, they have ended much longer winless trends in the West Indies and most recently South Africa.

The Yorkshire batsman warns he and his international team-mates will need to be at their best to prevail against Ricky Ponting's tourists but he will not be lacking for confidence built on recent success.

''We will have to play at our maximum against them to win, far better than we have on this tour (of South Africa),'' he conceded.

''But what excites me is that I'm going into an Ashes series with a young team, one that will be around in 2006-07, whereas Australia openly admit they will lose some players, maybe as many as four or five.

''What we have done this winter is show character and you need that and guts above all against the Aussies.''