Harmison outshone his Lions team-mates at Boland Bank Park

Harmison sent down 14 wides and nine no-balls, a lack of discipline that may worry England's senior management.

He said: "It was difficult, to be honest. It's the first real sort of cricket I've had since July.

"I did spray it a little bit and I'm not 'bowling fit'. But I've got six wickets and I'm happy with that."

Harmison famously started the last Ashes series with a wide into the hands of Andrew Flintoff at slip and he struggled once again with his radar, despite picking up wickets at regular intervals.

The Durham paceman has been asked to prove his form in two four-day games for Lions after a season hit by injury.

I was disappointed with the way it came out... I bowled a lot of wides and I'm not fully with it Steve Harmison

If he convinces the selectors he is in top form, he will be added to the Test squad travelling to Sri Lanka.

The paceman saw off Cape Cobras opener Andrew Puttick lbw and one of their two current internationals JP Duminy on Thursday.

And on Friday he added the wickets of Stiaan van Zyl and three tail-enders as the Cobras finally succumbed in the 103rd over of their innings.

Harmison, 28, has not played for his country since undergoing hernia surgery after the final Test with West Indies in June.

Before Thursday he had not played any competitive cricket since suffering a side injury against Surrey.

And despite the wickets, he revealed he still had work to do.

"The wickets weren't everything to be honest. I was disappointed with the way it came out," he said.

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"I bowled a lot of wides. In the last two or three years I bowled six no-balls and I bowled eight [sic] in this game, so that tells its own story.

"I'm a bit rusty and I'm not fully with it. So there were good things and bad things.

"The positives were I got 28 overs under my belt, I fielded for 102 overs in decent heat in very, very good competitive cricket and got six wickets.

"The downside was my action wasn't as good as I would like to, but we're a month away from the first Test match and there's still a lot to work on.

"I'm over the injuries and I'm fit, but the one thing I'm not is bowling fit.

"That's a big difference that any bowler who reads this will understand.

"I'm in the gym, I'm doing the sort of fitness stuff, and I've got good miles in my legs, but I'm not bowling fit and I've not got the overs under my belt and that's what I need to do.

"Hopefully these next three or four weeks will do that."

He retained his central contract in September, despite having bowled erratically in the home Test series win over West Indies and missing the much tougher encounters against India.

Harmison managed just 10 wickets in the 5-0 Ashes drubbing 12 months ago and has given up one-day internationals after a string of lacklustre performances.

Meanwhile, his Durham team-mate Liam Plunkett has begun his own winter in South African domestic cricket.