James Harris savours Andrew Strauss wicket at Lord's

Harris kept the match ball as a memento of his five-wicket haul

Glamorgan fast bowler James Harris said taking the wicket of England captain Andrew Strauss compensated for missing out on selection for the England Lions.

While the Lions faced Sri Lanka in Derby, Harris gave the selectors a timely reminder of his talent by taking 5-41 against Middlesex at Lord's.

It started when the 21-year-old trapped Strauss for eight in his fourth over.

"It's always nice to get him out. I was fairly disappointed not to be playing in the Lions game," Harris said.

"But I'll take that instead. It's not a bad trade-off."

Harris, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday, toured the West Indies with the Lions, effectively England's second-string, in January and February.

The seamer enhanced his growing reputation by taking 14 wickets - and scoring a couple of half centuries - on his first Lions tour but he still finds himself 10th in the pecking order of England bowlers.

That could soon change, though, if Harris continues with his early-season form, which has already yielded 18 wickets in four County Championship matches.

"It went pretty well to be honest," he added after taking his second five-wicket haul of the season on Thursday.

"Any time you pick up five wickets it's obviously very nice, but to do it here at Lord's is something different. This place is pretty special.

"We were going to have a bat to be honest. It looked a pretty decent pitch and there wasn't particularly too much cloud cover, so we were going to stick the pads on if we'd have won the toss.

"But obviously we didn't and ended up bowling but we did OK."

After Harris had ripped through the Middlesex top order from the Nursery End, taking three wickets for six runs in 10 balls, the home side were eventually bowled out for 150.

Graham Wagg and Will Owen took two wickets apiece, with Wagg taking the scalp of former Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple, who gave stubborn resistance with a top-score of 44.

Gareth Rees (55 not out) and William Bragg (57no) helped Glamorgan to commanding position at stumps on 151-1.

"[The ball] didn't do excessive amounts, it did enough," added Harris.

"But we stuck the ball in decent areas and caught catches, which was important.

"Obviously I got five but Graham Wagg and Will Owen both bowled very well. Today was my day but they bowled brilliantly as well.

"I've managed to pinch the ball, so that's in my bag as well. This is a very special place. It's just completely different to anywhere else I've played. To get wickets at Lord's is a great feeling."