Harmison: I’m not finished yet

"If not this week, I really hope there is an England encore for me somewhere down the line this summer," Steve Harmison said.

"I’ve taken a five-for at Edgbaston and five at Headingley, both on flat decks, in recent weeks, and everyone knows what I can do at The Oval."

"I’ll fight back every time I get knocked down because I’m not finished with international cricket yet," he added.

"What they say is true – you’re always a better player when you’re injured, retired or left out, but I’m basically the same bowler with the same passion about playing for my country.

"The one thing that really rankles is when people question my desire to play for England, but I’ve always fought back when I’ve been left out three times in the last three years – and I’ll do it again if I have to.

"Every time I get knocked down, I’ll fight hard to win my place back for the simple reason that I love playing for England, and I love earning the right to put on an England cap by playing for Durham.

"Even if I don’t play in this match, I’ll be like a boomerang – I’ll keep coming back."

"You’ve got to go in with a fully-fit guy," Matthew Hoggard said.

"We have done it before with Andrew Flintoff. We’ve pushed him when he has not been 100% fit and injured him more in the long run. You can’t go in half-cooked.

"I think Steve Harmison is the obvious choice to replace him.

"I think we will take a spinner out and go with another bowler, and Steve’s bowling well."

Even the groundsman at Lord’s Mick Hunt said: "This pitch has a nice coverage of grass and maybe more pace and carry than we’ve sometimes had.

""Harmison gave Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer a bit of a going over four years ago, so why not play him here?

"The pitch really looks the part and it may do a bit in the first session."