Marcus Harris on his Test axing and why he will be better prepared if recalled for Ashes

Should David Warner fail at The Oval against India, Marcus Harris is in the box seat to open alongside Usman Khawaja in the Ashes, writes DANIEL CHERNY.

Marcus Harris is on the brink of a Test recall in the Ashes. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

When calls were coming for Marcus Harris’ head midway through the 2021-22 Ashes series, Justin Langer stood by the opener.

Within a couple of months, Harris was out of the team and Langer out of a job.

But for Harris, that show of confidence, if only fleeting, meant a lot. And he has since taken a leaf from Langer’s book to ensure he is best prepared if and when another opportunity arises.

There is some irony to the fact that Harris was dropped when his Test numbers were actually turning the corner.

Easily lost in the wash-up of Scott Boland’s stunning debut haul of 6-7 in England’s second innings of the Boxing Day Test was Harris’ four-and-a-half hour 73, the highest individual score of the match.

In the ensuing rubber at the SCG, Harris twice made starts. In most circumstances, his 38 and 27, on the back of that knock in Melbourne, would have been enough to secure his place for the series finale in Hobart.

The problem for Harris was, however, that Travis Head had contracted Covid-19 in between the Melbourne and Sydney matches. Head and Usman Khawaja had been jostling for the last spot in Australia’s middle-order ahead of the series, so Khawaja came in for the ill South Australian.

Khawaja duly made two centuries. Harris’ bits and pieces innings weren’t enough to save his place when Head returned.

Australia has played 15 Tests since Khawaja returned. Harris hasn’t played any of them.

Marcus Harris scored a half-century in the penultimate Test before his axing. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Yet selectors never forgot about him. He was a spare batter in Pakistan and then for much of the home summer. When he was omitted for the tour of India earlier this year, it might have appeared the panel had moved on, but that was a conditions-based selection.

The left-hander probably won’t get a start for the World Test Championship final but should David Warner fail at The Oval against India, Harris is in the box seat to open alongside Khawaja in the first Ashes Test in Birmingham.

Langer has been gone for more than a year but Harris still feels support, this time from the new regimen of coach Andrew McDonald and co.

“I was never really expecting to go to India, but the Ashes was my goal for me as a series,” Harris tells CODE Sports.

“The messaging hasn’t changed, which is which is really good as a player.”

Reflecting back to that last Ashes series, which had started with scores of three, nine not out, three and 23, Harris actually feels a degree of pride in his resilience to perform solidly even after his position had been questioned.

“What I learned and took a lot of confidence from within that series was that I didn't start the series well and I was really struggling,” Harris says.

“I remember ‘JL’ (Langer) putting his arm around me and really supporting me, publicly supporting me.

“Being able to come out of that the other side in Melbourne and bat well, and then I felt like I was batting well in Sydney and didn’t jump on two good starts.

“I remember when ‘Bails’ (selector George Bailey) said to me I wasn’t playing, I was disappointed but it wasn’t like a ‘I’m never going to play again for Australia’ sort of dropping.

“If someone make a hundred in both innings, you can’t be upset if they get picked ahead of you. And to be fair to Uz, he should have probably never been out of the Test side when he was.”

Marcus Harris has no qualms with Australian selectors for sticking with Usman Khawaja after his twin tons at the SCG. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

If Harris gets a look-in at some stage over the next couple of months, he is optimistic that he is well-placed to make a better fist of things than he has across his 14 Tests to date, in which he is averaging just 25.29 and has never made more than 79.

While Warner’s struggles in England four years ago have been the stuff of tomes, Harris hardly set the world alight either, averaging less than 10 in the series after replacing Cameron Bancroft for the third Test at Leeds.

“My Test career has not been any easy by any sense. And that’s just the story of my cricket career,” Harris says.

“But I think the rewards are there if you’re willing to stay and commit, and I think I’m a pretty resilient person.”

The Harris that headed to the UK four years ago was one with very little experience in such conditions. But he says three straight seasons of county cricket, first with Leicestershire and then with Gloucestershire, have made him a more rounded player.

Marcus Harris, pictured playing for Gloucestershire, has picked up a wealth of UK experience since the 2019 Ashes. Picture: Harry Trump/Getty Images

“The main thing was that when I first came in 2019, I’d never ever played professional cricket in England. I’d played league cricket a few times, but you may as well be playing on a different planet because it’s completely different,” Harris says.

“It was definitely an eye-opener playing in that Ashes, the way the ball reacted and the way the game was played.

“The main thing for me in England is mainly trying to play the ball late and just trying to cover off-stump and as a classic left-hander, try not to fall over. That’s what brings LBW into play.

“I think the good thing is being able to be playing cricket 12 months of the year now for three years in a row, I don't have to rely on one single coach or one single person. That has sort of helped me, I can sort of coach myself along the way and I think that’s probably helped my cricket the most. I can problem-solve probably better now after being away all the time and having to work things out for myself.

“If you're relying on one person to help you all the time, it’s going to be too hard because, like, if I’m playing here and I’m expecting someone in Australia to sort of help me with what I’m doing, we’re not even on the same timeline.”

Marcus Harris has worked hard on being his own best coach. Picture: James Elsby/Getty Images

And in that way, Harris is following the footsteps of a couple of mentors.

“‘JL’ used to play all year-round, used to come over and play in England, he couldn’t expect (WA coaches) Noddy Holder or Bobby Meuleman to help him all the time. Bucky (Victorian coach and former Test opener Chris Rogers) is probably the classic of being able to coach himself and work out what works for him.

“One coach is not always right. So it's always nice to hear some different views and opinions on ways of going about it, and tactics and stuff like that.”

When Harris was named ahead of Cameron Bancroft on CA’s contract list and then the ensuing Test squad, the public response was lukewarm at best. Understandably, the average punter has doubts of the viability of Harris as a Test commodity. But he says proving the doubters wrong is not something that concerns him.

Yet he’s not ashamed to say that reaching triple-figures for his country, more than four years after his Test debut, remains a source of motivation.

“I know how to make hundreds,” he says.

“I‘d be lying if I said I haven’t dreamt about it. But I think as I’ve got older, it’s been more about playing important innings in games. And sometimes that might not be a hundred.”

Originally published as Marcus Harris on his Test axing and why he will be better prepared if recalled for Ashes