With Australian selectors searching for an opener capable of scoring rapidly, former Test opener Marcus Harris issued a timely reminder of his talents leading into Christmas when scoring a century against Pakistan in a trial game in Melbourne.
The 31-year-old, who is among the leading candidates to replace David Warner when he retires following the New Year’s Test against Pakistan at the SCG, starred with the bat against the tourists on Saturday.
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In a two-day trial game against Pakistan at the Junction Oval, Harris scored 126 from 131 balls at the top of the order for Victoria in a match that was played behind closed doors.
The left-hander, who was a member of the Australian squad which retained the Urn during the Ashes tour of the United Kingdom earlier this year, has played 14 Tests for his country.
His most recent appearance came against England at the SCG nearly two years ago, with Harris averaging 25 at a strike rate of 45.91 when playing for his nation in red ball cricket.
The Western Australian-raised opener recently represented the Prime Minister’s XI in a clash against Pakistan which featured the leading contenders to replace Warner for the series against the West Indies next month.
Opening with another former Test opener and fellow candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant position, Harris scored 49 runs from 102 balls in the match in Canberra.
Bancroft, who has performed strongly in Sheffield Shield for Western Australia over the past 15 months, made 53 from 128 balls.
Another former Test opener Matt Renshaw was unbeaten on 136 runs when batting at No.3, while all-rounder Cameron Green scored 46 from 96 balls at No.4 in the match.
Warner bats at a tempo quicker than most openers and selectors have indicated it is preferable to have a batsman capable of scoring rapidly to enable Usman Khawaja to play a more grounded role at the top of the order.
Meanwhile, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey believes Green will have a lengthy career for his nation, regardless of who replaces Warner at the top of the order.
The Western Australian was replaced by Mitch Marsh midway through the Ashes but has been training with the Australian team in recent weeks.
On the eve of the series against Pakistan, Australian coach Andrew McDonald hinted at a batting reshuffle which might allow the nation to squeeze Green into the team.
Marsh, who starred in the Perth Test and has opened the batting in short-form cricket for Australia, subsequently declared he had no interest in the position.
Carey said at the MCG on Saturday that Green, who was in the nets at the MCG during a non-compulsory training session for the Australians ahead of the Boxing Day Test match, had the ability to bat in any position.
“I think Cam is skilful enough to play in any position for this country, but I also don’t really get too involved with selection at all,” Carey said.
“Again, probably like the Cameron and Mitch situation, it is a great headache for Australian cricket to have. There are so many amazing players around the country who are scoring runs.
“We’ve got a lot of great players around this group who could easily fit into the top six anywhere.”
The trial game between Pakistan and Victoria finished midway through Saturday afternoon when it became clear neither team would be capable of winning.
In reply to Pakistan’s opening innings score of 323 on Friday, Victoria declared at 4 for 272 on Saturday.
Another former Australian opening Will Pucovski, who is on the comeback trail after mental health and concussion concerns, was bowled by Shaheen Afridi for four runs on Friday.
Pakistan made 3 for 57 from 11 overs in their second innings on Saturday when the match was called off.
