WHILE his county colleagues dismissed Somerset for 375 at Taunton yesterday, Steve Harmison was left counting the cost of his dream winter tour to the Caribbean.

The England paceman was rewarded for his 23 wickets in the Caribbean with a central contract but, for the fiercely proud Geordie, that does have its downside.

Under orders to put his feet up back in Ashington, England's number one strike bowler knows his chances of turning out for his county this season in anything but the one-day game are remote.

The 25-year-old will be wrapped in cotton wool until the Test matches against New Zealand, and admitted his frustration at being unable to repay those people who have shown unwavering faith in his undoubted ability.

When quizzed on whether he would be playing much for his county this season Harmison said: "My heart says yes, but my head says not.

"It's frustrating, because I feel very sorry for those people - the likes of Martyn Moxon and Jon Lewis - who have tried to build a team and they've had me and Paul (Collingwood) taken away.

"I feel for the Durham members as well; they're the ones I need to be thankful to because at the end of the day, they've stuck by me for five or six years when things haven't gone quite right.

"There have been ups and downs in my career when I haven't been as good as gold and haven't been England's number one bowler, as they're saying at the minute.

"I feel sorry for them because they've stuck by me and they're not going to see me for six months."

Durham coach Moxon will be delighted to have Collingwood and Shoaib Akhtar both playing and among the wickets, but the likelihood of seeing the Ashington and Rawalpindi Expresses in tandem for the county this season are slim.

The national side's gain is certainly Durham's loss, and the next time the Riverside faithful see the home-grown talent of Harmison on show will almost certainly be in England colours - probably the one-day international clash with New Zealand on June 29.

The transformation from a player with unfulfilled raw talent to the number three Test bowler in the world has been dramatic.

It was 12 months ago that Harmison returned from his maiden Ashes tour after claiming just nine wickets in four Tests against the world's best side at the rate of 50.55.

Then, after picking up the man-of-the-match award following a nine-wicket haul in the first Test in Bangladesh last year, he was forced home with a back injury.

A whispering campaign began, with questions raised over whether Harmison had the mental strength to cope with Test cricket, before the Durham man answered his critics with his man-of-the-series displays in the West Indies.

His winter exploits have undoubtedly given the paceman a new-found confidence.

"I feel a lot more part of it in terms of Test matches," he said.

"I feel as though I'm just about there, just about established as a Test cricketer now.

"I've always backed my own ability to play at this level

"I still feel as though I'm some way away in the one-day, but in the Test matches, I feel as if I'm just about ready to say I'm am established member of the England side."

Harmison is certain to be part of any winter tour and the Durham man is of the 'wait and see' mindset when it comes to the vexed question of Zimbabwe.

With representatives from the England and Wales Cricket Board having already met Government officials and been told that the matter is one for them and them alone, the final decision may rest with the England players and officials on whether to tour or not.

"It's for the ECB to decide," said Harmison. "I'm going to sit on the fence and say I want to wait to see what the ECB are saying.

"The way things are, the ECB have got to make a decision and, hopefully, they'll make a decision quicker than they did before the World Cup, not just for the players, but for the administrators and for everybody, for Michael Vaughan himself, to know what's happening with the trip to Zimbabwe.

"I think the players have to do it one by one, to be honest.

"I can't see us making a group decision because individuals will have other different opinions to others.

"I've not really thought about it myself yet because there's no decision been made.

But when the decision is there, it's up to each individual who's going to be in the Test squad to go away with family and friends to research all about Zimbabwe and what they feel about it, to decide whether they're going to go or not."