Lara sets sights on Harmison

On the eve of the first Test at Lord's, Brian Lara reckoned that England's dependence on Steve Harmison could be detrimental to their chances of winning the series. Harmison was the star of England's 3-0 romp in the Caribbean, taking 23 wickets at less than 15 apiece, but Lara suggested that England wouldn't know how to cope if he was injured, or mastered by his batsmen.

"He's a good bowler," said Lara diplomatically. "What is nice is that England want to seem to turn to him each and and every single time. I'm not sure if he's going to last the entire summer and if we do get hold of him, I don't know if they have a plan B."

Lara himself managed to get the better of Harmison just once in the West Indies, during the course of his epic 400 not out in the drawn final Test at Antigua. "Our plan is to to play confidently against whoever we come up against," said Lara. "He's a very good bowler, he's No.2 in the world but the more you get accustomed to a bowler you've seen them peter out into something you can handle. I'm expecting our guys after their experience in the Caribbean to be able to adapt to his style of bowling."

Lara admitted though that England were a side on the advance after their recent triumphs against West Indies and New Zealand. "England played really well in the Caribbean and credit must be given to them," he said. "They also beat New Zealand 3-0 which was outstanding. They are definitely a team moving upwards. Our job is to stall that process."

Michael Vaughan, Lara's counterpart, suggested that England would do everything to make sure that Harmison got through the summer without losing the spring in his stride. "It's always a worry," said Vaughan. "You don't want to lose your key bowler and Steve is our key bowler at the minute.

"We'll make sure we look after him but we'll also make sure that we're bowling him at the right moments in the match to win us that Test match."

Vaughan admitted that Andrew Flintoff's absence from the bowling line-up - he will play as a specialist batsman at Lord's - was a big blow. "It's huge. The medical advice is that we don't expect him to bowl in this Test match. Realistically, it's looking like the second Test and you will miss a quality world-class performer with the ball."

Simon Jones, another of the quartet that annihilated West Indies three months ago, is also on the comeback trail after injury.