How Marcus Harris handled brutal Test snub, relationship with Australian coach Andrew McDonald

After spending all summer waiting in the wings, Marcus Harris’ non-selection last season was brutal. A robust discussion with coach Andrew McDonald has given him perspective.

Marcus Harris has been in contact with Andrew McDonald since being left out of the Test squad. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images

It was an awkward phone call to make.

Having been strung along for months hoping he was the next cab off the rank to open for Australia once David Warner retired, Marcus Harris got the bad news a few days after the Sydney Test. Not only would the Aussies be moving Steve Smith up the order to make room for Cameron Green, but Harris had missed the squad entirely as the selection panel of George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide and national coach Andrew McDonald picked Matt Renshaw as the side’s spare batter ahead of Harris and Cameron Bancroft, both of whom were left crestfallen by the call.

It was a decision that had potential to place tremendous strain on the relationship between McDonald and Harris, who had worked together at state, Big Bash and international level for years.

Harris and McDonald have worked together for years at various levels of cricket. Picture: Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

The day after the news was relayed to Harris, the left-hander made a point of phoning McDonald. There were a few things the opener had to get off his chest.

Harris didn’t go into specifics about subject matter or tone, but reading between the lines he didn’t pull any punches.

“I rang him and told him what I thought,” Harris told this masthead ahead of the domestic season.

“And he’s like, ‘I’m glad that you’re doing that.’ He’s like, ‘don’t feel like you can’t say what you think. I want you to be able to say what you think.’ And I told him what I thought.

“I made sure I wrote down what I was (going to say), I didn’t want to go off the cuff and start yelling and screaming, to actually have some points to make. But now he’s really good. I think I messaged him couple weekends ago and I was on a golf trip in Perth with one of our mutual mates, so that was good.

“If you spoke to anyone that’s been in around the Aussie side in the last couple years, they’d all, say the same thing. They sort of feel like you can have those discussions but there’s still that respect there, which is good. So it was disappointing that the selection didn’t go my way, but (we) still have that sort of relationship where you still feel like you can have a conversation if you need.”

Missing out was a particularly cruel twist of events for Harris, who had been dropped mid-Ashes in early 2022 after Usman Khawaja’s twin centuries at the SCG, and had then spent much of the next couple of years running drinks for the Test side, including through last year’s two-month tour of England.

Harris during his Test-best score of 79 against India at the SCG in 2018-19. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

However his home domestic form had dwindled - Harris averaged less than 30 in the Sheffield Shield last season - and despite some solid offerings in county cricket and Prime Minister’s XI matches, Renshaw was given the nod.

Warner’s decision to set an end date on his Test career at the start of the Ashes tour meant the uncertainty over his successor hovered over Harris for seven months. It was a sapping experience, made more difficult by the fact he was overseas for much of what proved to be a challenging pregnancy for wife Cat, before their son Max arrived late last September.

Reflecting on what he described as a “clouded” mindset 12 months ago, Harris - at Cat’s urging - decided this off-season to embrace something he hadn’t previously: the mental side of cricket.

Having taken a liking to renowned sports psychologist Jonah Oliver after listening to a podcast appearance he made with Dylan Buckley, Harris has started working with Oliver, whose clients have included champion golfer Cameron Smith and Olympic bronze medallist Matt Denny.

“It turned out that my manager (James Murch) knew him well. He seems to know everyone. So it just worked out really well. So he’s been really good. He’s been quite he’s probably the busiest bloke I’ve ever met,” Harris said of Oliver.

“We’ve only had a few sessions, but I’ve just really enjoyed just the way he puts his thoughts on things. I don’t want to go into it too much (but) he’s really good.”

Harris batting for Leicestershire during the Australian winter. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Harris, 32, now seems at peace with his lot. He would dearly love to add to his 14 Tests, but is comfortable if it doesn’t happen.

Along with Cat and Max, Harris enjoyed the off-season playing with Leicestershire before travelling through Europe together.

He then ventured to Darwin to play with the Melbourne Renegades academy side, and is optimistic of a more formal return to the club this summer.

And then what about the big issue of who will open for Australia given the increasing doubts over the Smith experiment continuing.

“If you have your ear to the ground of it, or you read the tea leaves, it seems like the order might change again, but I’m not sure the personnel will change too much, which is neither here nor there,” Harris said.

“That doesn’t really matter. I don’t think it’s like last summer (where) I’ve got to really perform early in the season to make sure my name’s up in lights. So I think my view on things is gonna be a little bit different. And whether or not that stuff happens again, I’d like to think it would if I perform well, but if it doesn’t, you know what, it’s not the end of the world.”

Originally published as How Marcus Harris handled brutal Test snub, relationship with Australian coach Andrew McDonald