Marcus Harris is mounting pressure on David Warner ahead of the highly-anticipated Ashes series, with the left-hander peeling off an elegant century for Gloucestershire in the County Championship this week.
The Victorian opener, who was handed a Cricket Australia contract last week, scored a classy 148 from 192 deliveries during Gloucestershire’s draw against Glamorgan in challenging conditions over the weekend. It was his seventh County Championship century in the past 24 months.
In the first innings, Harris top-scored for Gloucestershire with a patient 59 off 129 balls as the visitors were rolled for 165.
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The 30-year-old, who played his most recent Test appearance in January last year, opened for Australia in the 2019 Ashes series, averaging 9.66 in six forgettable innings. But since then, Harris has been a relentlessly consistent performer in the County Championship with 1588 runs at 51.22 for Leicestershire and Gloucestershire.
Harris’ inclusion in the 2023/24 national contract list was a strong indicator he would earn an Ashes call-up this winter, with chief selector George Bailey confessing Warner was “at the mercy of selection”.
“The Ashes is a huge series, and we’ll be looking to pick our best team,” Bailey told reporters last week.
“We’re going to have to have our best team playing incredibly well to challenge England over there, the way they’re playing at the moment.”
Elsewhere in the County Championship, Leicestershire debutant Peter Handscomb, who missed out on a national contract, scored 112 and 68 not out in a dramatic three-wicket victory over Yorkshire at Headingley. The Victorian’s fourth-innings half-century helped Leicestershire, who were winless last season, chase the 392-run target in less than 86 overs.
“I’m pretty speechless, the boys are incredibly happy, an incredible win for the boys,” Leicestershire teammate Rishi Patel told BBC Radio.
“Handscomb played so brilliantly, his calmness throughout the whole thing was amazing.”
The 31-year-old Victorian, who played all four Tests in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, also served as wicketkeeper for Leicestershire, taking a diving catch down the leg side and effecting a stumping with the gloves.
However, Handscomb could miss out on Ashes selection with Travis Head returning to the middle order and Matthew Renshaw bashing down the door for a Test recall. The Dukes ball has previously exposed the right-hander’s batting technique, with Handscomb mustering just two centuries in 51 County Championship knocks to date.
West Australian opener Cameron Bancroft, the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield this summer, registered 44 and a duck in Somerset’s draw against Warwickshire, with teammate Peter Siddle claiming 2-47 in the rain-affected contest.
New South Wales seamer Chris Tremain starred for Northamptonshire in his County Championship debut, taking seven scalps in a seven-wicket loss to Kent, including a five-fa haul in the first innings. However, Northamptonshire teammate Sam Whiteman was less successful in the season opener, scoring 1 and 12.
Sean Abbott and Nathan Andrew also claimed five-wicket hauls in the first round of the County Championship, taking 5-50 for Surrey and 5-85 for Sussex respectively.
Meanwhile, Queensland spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, another player who could consider themselves unlucky to miss out on a national contract, snared six wickets during Durham’s thrilling loss to Sussex in Hove.
