Harmison will perform any role

Steve Harmison was braced to do his best in the interests of his team, after joining up late with England following his involvement with the ICC Super Series in Australia. Harmison, who flew into Pakistan alongside Andrew Flintoff on Thursday morning, will play in England's final warm-up match at Bagh-e-Jinnah on Sunday - a match in which England are expected to field something close to their first-choice Test XI.

Pakistani wickets are traditionally low and slow affairs, and therefore unlikely to suit Harmison's hard-hitting style, but he declared he was prepared to do "whatever it takes" to help England emulate their famous series victory in 2000-01. "The great thing we have built up as a team is a work ethic," he added. "It doesn't matter what we play on, because we'll fall into line."

Harmison took 17 wickets to help England to Ashes glory last summer, but his much-publicised concerns about touring life are sure to be a talking point on an arduous three-Test, five-ODI tour. He burst to prominence with a blistering assault on the West Indian batsmen two winters ago, but proved worryingly ineffective during England's 2-1 win in South Africa last winter, taking just nine wickets in five Tests.

But Harmison was upbeat about his overseas form. "All the tours I have been on, apart from South Africa, I've done quite well," he stressed. "I wouldn't be as harsh on myself as a few people have been. I felt as though I didn't bowl that badly, just that things didn't go my way. I think with the rub of the green I might have had a few wickets."

Green is a colour Harmison is unlikely to see much of once the Tests begin, as Pakistan are expected to prepare dry wickets to aid their wrist-spinners, Mushtaq Ahmed and Danish Kaneria. "I imagine we'll be playing on turning wickets, but we will adapt to whatever," he shrugged. "If it means quick and short bowling we'll do it; if it means more discipline and having the spinners more involved, then so be it."

Harmison acknowledged that England would feel the absence of Simon Jones, and his ability to reverse-swing the ball at 90mph, but he felt sure that they had the strength in depth to prevail. "We have five quality fast bowlers in the squad and three spinners," he said. "Simon is going to be a loss - but we still believe with the squad of 16 we have we can adapt to all conditions."

For all his homesickness concerns, Harmison was happy to be back in the bosom of the England team set-up, and felt that the unity and strength of purpose they had created was entirely different to the artificial environment of the ICC Super Series. "To be part of that team was fantastic, but I was a bit disappointed," he said of his stint in the World XI. "It was different. It didn't feel like normal Test cricket."

Unlike the Ashes of course, which still left him with a warm afterglow. "All the euphoria was great," he said. "But it has probably been good for us to have time away from one another. We had worked so hard for eight weeks living in one another's pockets, and now it feels just right, to be back together again and ready for an important series."