Harmison in no rush to see the old guard return

Harmison is adamant he deserves to be in the England team that faces South Africa in their next Test, at Edgbaston on July 24.

A welter of pace bowlers - Gough, Caddick, Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff - should have recovered from injury when the series begins in seven weeks' time.

But Harmison insisted he should not be axed after taking six wickets - including Test-best figures of four for 55 - in Durham's inaugural Test match.

He said: "I'd feel hard done by if I missed out on the next Test.

"I've played in six Tests in a row and I feel I've done enough to play against South Africa come late July.

"I want what's best for English cricket, and if it moved forward without me in the team then that would be good.

"It's good for England that there's so much competition. Whoever's in the side knows he has to perform, or there's someone who will take their shirt.

"It will be a tough call to make when they decide who misses out. But I feel confident in my own ability and think I've proved my point."

Coach Duncan Fletcher is expecting to face a difficult selection problem when England return to five-day combat next month.

He said: "There are still some guys who are injured that are going to cause a problem when they come back.

"But because of the amount of cricket we play, we want to try and build a pool of players, especially in the bowling department.

"It's important we have guys sitting in the wings who have some experience that we can put straight in so that we're not crying out for experienced players all the time."

Harmison will be protected from possible burnout this summer as England ensure their thoroughbred fast bowlers are not forced to do too much donkey work.

Harmison, 24, and 20-year-old James Anderson have been told to expect plenty of rest during the forthcoming NatWest Challenge against Pakistan and triangular tournament.

With up to ten one-day internationals in the next five weeks, plus an arduous Test series with South Africa, England are keen to cherish rather than flog the Ashington Express.

As Harmison and Anderson are both centrally contracted, they can be withdrawn from county matches to keep them fresh for international duty.

But England will use them sparingly in the limited-overs game as they look ahead to a five-Test series that is crammed into just 47 days.

Fletcher said: "Somewhere along the line, some of these young guys are going to need a rest.

"I think it's going to be a big ask to have Anderson bowling and playing in all these one-dayers, and having a lot of travelling and things like that.

"We're going to have to look at it very carefully and look at our bowling attack.

"I'm not going to say we're definitely going to have a rotation policy, but I would think there's a chance of it.

"Anderson is fine at the moment, but you don't want the horse to have bolted and then try to shut the stable door.

"All the time when I'm giving guys rest, what I'm trying to do is make sure they're not over-cooked - it's much better for them to be under-cooked."

Harmison was the proudest player on the Riverside pitch on Saturday, leading the England team on a lap of honour after they wrapped up a 2-0 series win over Zimbabwe.

Not only was he delighted with his own performance - which he capped by sealing the innings and 69-run victory at a packed Chester-le-Street when he bowled Dougie Hondo - but Harmison felt Durham's first Test was a raging success.

He said: "I think the people who came to this game will definitely come back to watch Test cricket.

"Let's hope we will build on this occasion in a couple of years' time because it's been fantastic. The atmosphere was excellent and everything the club did to get this special occasion on was first-class.

"It was a professional job, from putting the game on to how the England team played."