Simon Katich wants to re-introduce himself to English cricket fans.

The 29-year-old Australian batsman wants to make his mark this Ashes series after a notorious debut four years ago.

On that occasion, at Headingley in the fourth Test of the 2001 series, the first-gamer shouldered arms to England paceman Darren Gough when on 15 and had his off-stump ripped out.

Australia went on to lose the match and Katich, who was filling in for injured skipper Steve Waugh, did not represent his country again for two years.

When he did return and scored a stylish 52 against Zimbabwe at the SCG in October 2003, Katich revealed how much that error of judgment two years before had hurt.

"I just wanted to be positive, probably because of what happened last time around when I got judged on that one shot at Headingley," he said after the knock against Zimbabwe," he said.

"That happens, that's the name of the game I guess, it's a fine line. You play at a ball and you nick it and get out and you let one go and get bowled and I've had to live with that for a couple of years."

While it was not the sort of long exile Damien Martyn endured for one bad shot, England should get to know Katich as the potential backbone of the Australian batting line-up for the next five years.

He scored his maiden Test hundred in Waugh's farewell match in 2004, posted knocks of 81 and 99 at No.3 in Ricky Ponting's absence last year in India and then struck a sweet 118 in the first Test against New Zealand, in March.

As Australia prepared to open its Ashes tour with a Twenty20 match against an invitational XI at Arundel (early Friday morning AEST), Katich wanted England fans to get to know him as more than just a teammate of Shane Warne and Kevin Pietersen's at Hampshire.

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