Stephen Harmison rejoined the England squad insisting that every question posed by the management at the end of the tour to New Zealand has been answered. “A lot of people thought they would never see me in an England shirt again,” he said. “I was never one of them. I asked what I had to do and did it. I wanted to get back and knew I would be better after a long run of bowling.”

Harmison, who was dropped in March, said that he has missed the atmosphere of Test cricket. “It is great playing for Durham, but the buzz of the first morning in a Test match is not something you get playing at the Riverside,” he said. “I am looking forward to bowling that first ball and getting back out in front of 20,000 people.

“Being at Edgbaston doesn't really help [he has taken five Test wickets there at a whopping 68.20], but being in an England shirt does. From where I was four months ago, just being in an England shirt and an England dressing-room helps me. Sometimes you need time away from the big stage to get back in a groove to come back.

“My pace is up, I've been bowling quickly in one-day cricket which is the only time the speed cameras are there, and I was up at 92mph at the Twenty20 finals on Saturday. I am never out to prove anything to anyone. I have played a lot of Test matches and have a lot of experience.”