COMEBACK KID HARRIS FELT TEST TENSION
NERVES got the better of the normally composed Marcus Harris when he made his Test return against India in Brisbane last month — with mixed results.
The Victorian opener went more than a month without a match before he was called up to replace Will Pucovski at the Gabba. He made five in the first innings before a more polished 38 in the second dig.
Neither was the breakthrough Test innings that Harris — who has now played 10 times in a baggy green and spent the whole series in coach Justin Langer’s squad —was looking for.
But the left-hander held his place for the tour of South Africa, which was postponed. And Victorian coach Chris Rogers is adamant there is “more to come” from Harris, who has six Sheffield Shield games to reassert his batting authority before Australia plays its next Test.
“Just talking to him, he flagged how nervous he was in the first innings,” Rogers said before the Vics’ clash with NSW at the SCG, starting on Wednesday.
“It’s something, as an outsider, you don’t really think about too much. He’s been sitting on the pine for a while, he hadn’t played, and then all of a sudden he’s expected to walk out and play in a big match.
“He’s a guy who doesn’t get nervous, so for him to say he was nervous is really interesting, that affected his game.”
Harris pounded 239 for the Vics last October in a record-breaking opening partnership with Pucovski, and thrust his name back into Test contention after being dropped following the 2019 Ashes.
But he didn’t quite nail it in six innings against India, four for Australia A in December, then in the Gabba Test match in January.
Rogers, who was also a lefthanded opener, did a lot of work with Harris leading into the summer, after taking over the Victorians.
Having played 24 of his 25 Tests in a stellar second chapter, which began five years after his Test debut, Rogers knows all about second chances.
He said the next six Shield games could be perfect for Harris to show how good he was.
“It is a good opportunity for him, not being under the glare of international cricket and having every shot analysed and every dismissal ripped apart,” Rogers said.
“It gives him time to get into some rhythm. I’m hoping by the end of the season he’s playing as well as ever and is ready to take that opportunity for Australia.
“There is still a bit more to come for Marcus.”