Harmison declares himself fit

Steve Harmison is confident he will be fit for the first Test starting at Brisbane on Thursday after missing England's tour match against South Australia with a side strain. Harmison, who came on as a substitute fieldsman on Sunday, said he had no major discomfort during his extensive bowling practice in the nets at Adelaide Oval.

"I will bowl through the pain barrier to help retain the Ashes," Harmison wrote in his column in The Mail on Sunday. "I won't do anything foolish, because this first Test is just too huge. But, as long as the medical people say my condition won't get worse by playing, I'll take any painkiller they want me to, and I'll get myself on the field.

"Once I'm out there, I'll bowl as much as they want me to, for as long as they want me to. I'm desperate to play in this match and in the whole series. The way I'm feeling now it will take a hell of a lot to stop me."

Harmison said the injury was a recurrence of an ongoing problem. "I recognised the pain as being similar to that I had on and off all summer," he said. "It was worst of all at The Oval and I was touch and go to play in the last Test [against Pakistan in August], but though it was bloody painful and sore, I took pills and got through it. I've been feeling it all through the tour.

"That's why I didn't bowl too much against New South Wales and when I woke up on Friday feeling stiff, I wasn't convinced I was right to play. I knew that if the scan showed a tear in my side I would be out for at least four to five weeks and my tour would effectively be over. It was a scary but, when the doctors saw the scans, they reassured me that the pain could be dealt with by a cortisone injection, and with that and treatment I should be OK."