In-form Victorian Marcus Harris boosts Ashes stocks with another solid knock against Tasmania

Marcus Harris may have played second fiddle to Victorian teammate Nic Maddinson against Tasmania in their Sheffield Shield clash but his Ashes stocks continue to soar in value on the audition stage.

Tasmanian players after getting out Victorian batsman Marcus Harris for 94.

If the second half of the Sheffield Shield season is the Ashes audition stage we believe it to be then Marcus Harris has gone from understudy to headline star.

Harris’ Victorian teammate Nic Maddinson stole the spotlight with a third hundred in as many matches for his new state, knocking out 136 at the Junction Oval against Tasmania and putting the home team in a position of power at 7-376.

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But with another 94 runs Harris took his own numbers to a level where debate about his Test worth should be over.

Maddinson, axed by NSW last year and playing with a 10cm steel rod in his wrist, enhanced his own standing as he became the first man since Don Bradman to score hundreds in his first three games for a state team.

Marcus Harris led the Vics recovery from 2-7 after Tasmania’s Riley Meredith rocked the home side. Picture: AAP

It was an innings national selectors, who picked Maddison for a Test debut when he wasn’t ready in 2016, shouldn’t ignore.

“I think he’s in better touch than when he was playing for Australia,” Victorian assistant coach Lachland Stevens said.

“Maddo is one of those players, when he’s going well, he’s destructive. When he got picked to play Test cricket he probably wasn’t going as well as he would have liked in red ball cricket.

“Whether he’s a better player now … I think he’s always been a very good player, he’s just in a good frame of mind and playing well.”

As is Harris, who led the Vics recovery from 2-7 after Tassie wild thing Riley Meredith rocked the team early, even claiming Will Pucovski for his first ever Shield duck.

Marcus Harris dodges bouncer on day one.

Nic Maddinson celebrates his century.

Harris and Maddinson then put on 170, before the opener was out to a shot he’d want to take back, trying to loft 18-year-old spinner Jarrod “Froggy” Freeman, playing his first game, for six.

It was a rush of blood, but not one Harris, who is in rare form, would be hauled over the coals for.

“He’ll be disappointed with how he played at the end, but what we need to talk about is how well he played at the start,’ Stevens said.

“We were 2-7 and he was the man who stood up and got us going again.”

Harris may have been out six runs short of a second consecutive century, but has still carved out 363 runs in three innings against the Dukes ball.

His 864 runs for the Shield season, with potentially seven innings to go, is already the most since Ed Cowan peeled off 959 in 2016/17.

Victorian batsman Marcus Harris sets off for more runs on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Tasmania at Junction Oval.

The magical 1000 barrier is within sight, as is a trip to England that some are trying to deny him.

When Joe Burns pounded 180 in the final Test against Sri Lanka plenty put Harris behind the Queenslander in the race to open with David Warner in the Ashes.

Since then, however, Harris is averaging 121, while Burns, who was out for a duck in the second innings at the Gabba, has made 168 runs in four innings against the Dukes ball.

Burns hasn’t made a century in 15 Shield innings this season.

OPEN DOOR?

Runs for Ashes opening contenders, against the Dukes ball, and for the Sheffield Shield season.

Marcus Harris 95, 174, 94 — 363 runs

@ 121 (Season: 864 runs @ 86.40, 2 x 100, 5 x 50)

Joe Burns 80, 60, 28, 0 — 168 runs

@ 42 (Season: 640 runs @ 49.23, 0 x 100, 6 x 50)

Cameron Bancroft 136*, 86, 11, 52 — 285 runs

@ 95 (Season: 285 @ 95, 1 x 100, 1 x 50)

Matt Renshaw 29, 47, 3, 31 — 100 runs

@ 25 (Season: 278 runs @ 21.38, 0 x 100, 1 x 50)

Originally published as In-form Victorian Marcus Harris boosts Ashes stocks with another solid knock against Tasmania