Harmison's out to forget a sore point

Headingley is next stop for the Steve Harmison show when, just nine months ago, it was full stop.

England picked five pacemen to play a Test against South Africa in Leeds last August but Harmison, discarded early from a squad top heavy with seamers, was not among them.

It is hard to credit now that Kabir Ali, James Kirtley and Martin Bicknell could be chosen ahead of the towering Durham man on a pitch more often than not made for fast bowlers.

A touch of shin soreness was all the excuse England needed then to drop Harmison after he had picked up only two wickets in the previous Test at Trent Bridge.

This week his confidence could not be much higher. Having taken 23 wickets during England's triumph in the Caribbean, he collected eight more at Lord's as the series against New Zealand began on a victorious note.

Almost as encouraging, Harmison played down his display in the capital as below par. "I've set standards and I didn't quite reach them," he said.

Like pace partner Simon Jones, Harmison is about to play his first Headingley Test and the pair of them will know that the ground has witnessed some mighty performances from fast bowlers in the past.

England, however, have a poor recent record there with the ball and owe the Yorkshire public a bit of a show after defeats by South Africa and India on their last two visits to Leeds.

At least Michael Vaughan is set to lead his country into Thursday's npower Second Test against the Kiwis after recovering from the knee injury that forced him to miss Nasser Hussain's swansong at Lord's.

It seems certain, too, that Vaughan will drop down to No4 on his home ground so Andrew Strauss can continue as Marcus Trescothick's opening partner following his dazzling debut a fortnight ago. The selectors have left the batting order to Vaughan and coach Duncan Fletcher.

Meanwhile, New Zealand geared up for the Test by completing a 328-run victory over Leicestershire, with five wickets for spinner Daniel Vettori.

England squad: M Vaughan (capt), M Trescothick, A Strauss, M Butcher, G Thorpe, A Flintoff, P Collingwood, G Jones (wkt), A Giles, M Hoggard, S Jones, S Harmison, J Anderson.