Pressure on Harris after soft dismissal

SCOTT BAILEY MARCUS Harris’ curse of the wide ball outside off stump has struck again with Australia’s opener caught at point on the drive in the fourth over in Canberra.

Arguably Australia’s best find of the summer with the bat, Harris (pictured) failed to get a start for just the second time in his six-Test career when he was out to Sri Lankan left-armer Vishwa Fernando for 11 at Manuka Oval.

Crucially though, his dismissal came to a poor ball that was full and very wide of off-stump, only for him to square drive it straight to Chamika Karunaratne low at point. It marked the fifth time in eight dismissals Harris had been out trying to hit a ball square of the wicket this summer, and came after Australia’s most prolific Test batsman Matthew Hayden urged him this week to play straighter for longer.

“I’ve been really impressed with Harris but I think he plays too square of the wicket for an opening batsman,” Hayden said. “He needs to … play straight and bat for long periods of time. And be disciplined to the point of: ‘I’m not going to play a cut shot until I’m on 120 or 130’.”

Harris was also caught at point trying to cut in Brisbane for 44 against Sri Lanka, bunting the ball to the fielder in the first over of the second day.

In Sydney against India he played on to a ball he was attempting to work through the gully off a spinner, while in Perth one jumped up at him as he shaped to again cut a spinner and in Adelaide he was caught behind trying to square drive. The 26-year-old has still been Australia’s second leading run-scorer this summer, with 313 runs at 34.77.