Harmison regret over Ponting blow

Steve Harmison still thinks about the day he struck Ricky Ponting on the face at Lord's © Getty Images

Steve Harmison has put a different twist on the pre-Ashes talk by making the surprise admission that his big regret from last year's victory was his apparent uncaring attitude towards a bloodied Ricky Ponting.

It was a towering Harmison bouncer that pounded into Ponting's helmet in the opening Test of last year's series at Lord's, a moment that despite England's defeat, set the tone for the series. Harmison's rising delivery forced the grille of Ponting's helmet into his cheek and nicked a cut that required stitches.

A shaken-up Ponting was soon caught in the slips giving Harmison the prized wicket of the batsman he rates as the best player he's ever bowled to. But he remains remorseful about the pain he inflicted on Ponting that day, and spoke of his lingering regret at the England team's media day at the SCG on the tourists' first full day in Australia ahead of this month's series.

"As a bowler and as a person I was disappointed with myself the way it came about," he told reporters on Monday. "I didn't realise the extent of the injury until I got back to my [bowling] mark, and by then it was too late. It was probably the one regret of the whole Ashes series.

"I'm not a big one for [blood on the pitch] to be honest. But it's my job. I bowl at 'X' miles an hour, the ball bounces, it goes through. It's a man's game, people do get hit."

But Harmison insisted he is not going soft and said he had no intentions of changing the way he bowled. "I don't think it's going to stop me from bowling short balls at anybody, and I don't think I'll be slowing up because of it. It's just something that happened. I'm not somebody that is in the business to hurt people. I'm in there to take wickets any which way possible."

Although he won't nominate particular Australian targets, such as Glenn McGrath often does before a series, Harmison spoke of his respect for Ponting. "The one player I obviously enjoy [getting out] is Ricky Ponting, because in my opinion he's the best player I've ever bowled at. And it probably lifts you just a little more when you come to bowl at him.

"But I'd never target anybody, because if you get Ricky Ponting out, then Damien Martyn comes in, Adam Gilchrist comes in after that. Good players come in. You lose focus if that happens."

Harmison's recent form has been patchy and he was left out of England's final Champions Trophy match against West Indies after being harshly treated by the Australians in the earlier match. However, Harmison did not feel he had a singular responsibility to lead the England attack in the upcoming contest.

"We hunt as a pack. We hunt as a goup," he said. "We won the Ashes because of four fast bowlers and Ashley Giles as the spinner. We all chipped in. And we did it as a group, as a pack, and it will be the same again."