LONDON, July 20: England fast bowler Steve Harmison insists his ‘gentle giant’ image will not prevent him from bowling aggressively at Australia during the forthcoming Ashes series.

There are many who wonder if the softly-spoken 26-year-old quick, well-known for a love of his native north-east and battle with homesickness, has enough ‘devil’ in him to be really quick.

But Harmison told reporters ahead of Thursday’s first Test he’d have no problem bowling bouncers at Australia and cited the treatment he’d handed out to England team-mate Andrew Flintoff, his closest friend in the game, earlier this season as proof of his on-field intent.

Harmison struck Flintoff on the shoulder with a bouncer when the pair met in a match between Lancashire and Durham earlier in the season.

“People ask if I am nasty enough to be a genuine fast bowler but I’ve always felt it is a job you do and that’s it,” Harmison said.

“I’ve always felt I’ve been decent enough away from the game but, when you cross that line and you’ve got the ball in your hand, it’s a job that you have to do.

“Flintoff is probably my best mate and, with the second ball against Lancashire at Old Trafford, I hit him on the shoulder. I don’t think he saw it coming. But I had a job to do and it’s the way it is.

“I feel I’ve got a nasty streak in me but it’s when I’m in my cricket gear and have got the ball in my hand.

“I don’t believe you frighten batsman. You work them to your advantage. I don’t go out intentionally to hurt or frighten anyone.

“If someone gets hit on the head and they are out two or three balls later, I haven’t gone out to hurt them. But I’ve gone to get them out in a way via a plan that I’ve come up with.”

But he stressed the bouncer had to be used intelligently.

“Whether it is a major weapon depends on the wicket you are playing on. Australia are very good players of the short ball.”

Veteran Australia quick Glenn McGrath has singled out Harmison as vital to home hopes of breaking a run of eight straight series defeats.

However, Harmison said: “It’s not all about me. No one man is going to win this series. It’s going to be a team effort and having as many players perform on a given day, and outperforming them, is the key.

“Australia do that sort of thing to everyone. They don’t just do that to England. Wherever they go in the world, they tend to pick out two or three people and put players under pressure.”—AFP