STEVE HARMISON threw down the gauntlet to England cricket bosses last night when he told them: "I deserve a central contract."

The Durham paceman reckons his winter efforts Down Under and in South Africa have merited one of the six-month contracts to be handed out by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Harmison, 24, grew in stature as a Test player as the Ashes series developed and was a shock member of England's one-day plans.

With Simon Jones recovering from a serious knee injury, the Ashington Express is confident he will be a key member of Nasser Hussain's side against Zimbabwe and South Africa this summer.

And with the recipients of the half-year contracts expected to be announced next month, Harmison feels he has done enough to be included in the group of players rewarded by the ECB.

He said: "I'm aiming for a central contract and hopefully I'll get one. I certainly think I've justified a central contract.

"I played in four Tests and five one-dayers, and I went to the World Cup.

"A central contract would give me more time between games if I keep my form up to play Test cricket.

"If I don't get a central contract, I'll play for Durham and prove to people that I deserve one."

Harmison claims he has returned from the Southern Hemisphere a better player for the experience of pitting himself against the world champions in Test match and one-day cricket.

He took just nine wickets in four Ashes Tests, but he performed heroically in the fourth Test at Melbourne and was highly rated by Australia's all-conquering batsmen.

Harmison said: "You've got to improve when you're against the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting. I enjoyed my experience playing against those guys.

"I've felt at home since I walked through the dressing room door at Trent Bridge and made my Test debut.

"Going away has helped a lot because you're living in each other's pockets and you get to know people even better.

"I probably hurt myself a lot of the time because I kept doing things well and then knocking myself down with things that didn't quite go right.

"It was hard to come back mentally. The Australians can knock your confidence enough without you knocking yourself down.

"But I always came back after I was knocked. There were one or two times when it got a bit silly with the wides in one-day cricket and my confidence went. But I came back from it.

"I have to take the rough with the smooth. When you have days like the one at Sydney when we won the Test match, you can take the days when it doesn't go for you."

* India skipper Sourav Ganguly hailed a ''fantastic'' display by his side as they skittled New Zealand for 146 and recovered from a potentially disastrous position early on to extend their winning World Cup run to seven matches.

Zaheer Khan grabbed four for 42 as the Kiwis collapsed after being put in by Ganguly on a good-looking pitch at Centurion.

However, India were in trouble at 21 for three, which could have been a lot worse had Rahul Dravid not been dropped by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum off Shane Bond on just one.

Dravid (53no) and Mohammed Kaif (68no) then shared an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 129 to steer India to victory.

''I thought we were splendid in the field, it was absolutely fantastic,'' said Ganguly.

''We lost a couple of early wickets but it was good to see someone turn up and win the game for you.''

The Indian captain must now wait to see whether it will be Sri Lanka or New Zealand they face again in the semi-final, with the odds favouring the Sri Lankans who must beat Zimbabwe today to secure their place.

However, in spite of reaching the last four, Ganguly is not taking anything for granted.

''We have done very well so far but we have still got the important stage to come,'' he said.

''We have come so far we don't want to give it away.''

Disappointed New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming admitted his side had not performed adequately when given first use of the pitch.

''It was a poor performance batting-wise.

"We were never in the game,'' he said.

Fleming said his side had been too inconsistent during the tournament and that was the main reason why they had not already booked their place in the last four.

Instead, they are now pinning their hopes on Zimbabwe beating Sri Lanka, the only other side who can qualify for the semis.

* Adam Gilchrist says Australia's escapology at this World Cup has developed a belief they can win from any situation.

The Australians, who face Kenya in a day-nighter at Kingsmead today to finish the Super Six stage, have triumphed in all eight of their matches so far in the competition.

In all they have set an on-going record of 14 successive one-day international wins.

Twice that run came under severe threat on a placid Port Elizabeth wicket, only for Michael Bevan and Andy Bichel to combine in spectacular fashion.

The duo put on an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 73 to clinch victory in their final Pool A contest, against England, and another partnership of 97 guided them away from potential calamity when New Zealand reduced them to 84 for seven.