THE Australian cricketing public like nothing better than a spot of Pommie-bashing, so Steve Harmison ought to have expected to be the butt of jokes from Adelaide to Alice Springs after his disastrous debut Down Under.

The Durham paceman, suffering from mild concussion after banging his head while fielding, bowled seven wides in a row in England's opening match of their Ashes tour.

This less-than-magnificent seven was manna from heaven for Aussie wags, who wasted no time in poking fun at Harmison's misfortune.

"Have you heard about Steve Harmison's website?" they asked. "The address is WWWWWWW..."

Fast-forward four months, and the Ashington Express who hit the buffers so spectacularly in Lilac Hill has rolled into southern Africa, ready to spearhead England's assault on World Cup glory.

He has overcome an attack of the bowling yips in the Perth Test followed by a string of errant one-day performances that saw him stake another claim for the title of England's premier wide boy.

In three successive VB Series matches, Harmison sent down 23 wides in just 19 overs that cost 144 runs. And the strike bowler took just one wicket in that miserable sequence.

No wonder the 24-year-old admitted: "It was embarrassing. I wanted the ground to open up and to fall down the hole."

But Harmison, whose chronic homesickness has often been used by critics to undermine his international claims, cannot be accused of lacking character.

Not only has he fought through the heartache of not yet seeing his baby daughter Abby, who was born in early December, he seems to have got his radar in full working order, for the time being at least.

In England's final warm-up match before the World Cup, he took three for 44 in 9.4 overs in a comfortable win against Border.

More importantly, Harmison bowled only two wides, alleviating fears that his raw pace is a luxury England cannot afford.

Even so, the memory of his VB Series nightmares is still fresh as he prepares for the acid test of his one-day international credentials.

Harmison said: "When the wides started, I thought, 'Here we go again.'

"I struggled for a few weeks but I always felt I could overcome it because I'd already done so a couple of times before on tour.

"I had a chat with Steve Bull, the England psychologist who was working at the Academy in Adelaide.

"It wasn't rocket science - he told me to focus on positive things, and that certainly helped.

"What made it more difficult for me was that I played against Australia in Hobart when I'd been unwell the night before with a sore throat and virus.

"I declared myself fit, but I started struggling in the heat after about 15 overs.

"I felt as though I'd let the lads down because I wasn't with it on the field; it was obvious I shouldn't have played.

"That knocked my confidence a bit and then I struggled a few days later against Sri Lanka in Sydney, where I bowled four wides in my first over.

"My confidence had gone but I came back well after that and Nasser Hussain has been fantastic.

"He's told me not to worry about the wides but bowl as quickly as possible and rough up the batsmen.

"I still feel as though I can be the wicket-taker England want me to be in one-day cricket.

"But I know that if the ball doesn't come out right, I could have none for 50 in ten overs with eight or nine wides."

Harmison's biggest champion has been Ian Botham, who has been unswerving in his total support for the avid Newcastle United fan since he was first picked in a Test squad almost three years ago.

Botham was furious with the England selectors when they overlooked Harmison for the final two Tests against India last summer, and his argument has been backed up by the evidence of the Ashes series.

Harmison added: "I've had a lot of good publicity from Ian Botham. In fact, I get a ribbing because he says some nice things about me.

"If I'd had a bad game, he would have been the first to criticise me, and I'd take that from someone like him because he's been good to me.

"To have someone like that speaking about you means you must have something about you, and something you can't throw away.

"Hopefully, I'll repay Ian Botham and the rest of the English public that love cricket.

"He played hard and worked hard, but he also enjoyed himself on and off the pitch.

"If I end up with half as good a record as he did, I'll be happy.