Marcus Harris has declared he is ready for a recall to Test cricket after striking an 11th-hour half-century for Australia A to muddy the selection waters, as worries mount over the form of the country’s senior batters heading into the series against India.
Australia’s stunning collapse in the one-day international against Pakistan has left national selectors with concerns in almost every position in the top six just a fortnight out from the start of the first Test.
Marcus Harris scored a vital half-century at the MCG.Credit: Getty Images
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will head into their short break without the big score either were shooting for, while Travis Head and Mitch Marsh – both on paternity leave – will not have played a competitive game in over a month.
On top of it all, no clear-cut winner has emerged from the battle of the openers between Harris and Nathan McSweeney.
Chief selector George Bailey will name a 13-player Test squad, possibly as early as Saturday, though the identity of Usman Khawaja’s opening partner may not be known until after players head into camp on Monday week and net form can be assessed.
Harris and McSweeney are set for one last on-field duel, with a small run chase looming this weekend for Australia A in their game against India A, who were 5-73 at stumps on the second day with a lead of 11. Rarely has red ink been so important for a career in the baggy green.
India A bowler Mukesh Kumar celebrates the wicket of Nathan McSweeney.Credit: Getty Images
While rising stars Sam Konstas and Ollie Davies failed on a seam-friendly track, Harris, 32, gave selector-on-duty Bailey plenty to ponder with a gritty 74 in conditions that tested his technique and concentration.
Harris, averaging 52 at first-class level this season, credits a change in mental approach for making a better case for Test selection compared to last year.
“If I get called upon I feel like I’m ready to go, and if I don’t, then so be it,” Harris said. “I feel pretty well-equipped. I think maybe if I was in this position 12 months ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to perform the way I have the start of this season.
“I think this time I’ve probably embraced it a little bit more than what I have before. I think, in the past, I’ve probably tried to really avoid it – then it builds it up a little bit more.”
Harris, the only top-four batter from either side to pass 20 this game, batted at the most difficult times – starting his knock against the new ball under lights on Thursday, and resuming on Friday morning under thick cloud cover.
There was only one boundary in the 48 runs he scored on the second day, a testament both to how well India A bowled, and his mental game.
He had a slice of luck, surviving a huge shout for a caught behind on 48 and playing and missing several deliveries that, on another day, he could have nicked or dragged back on to his stumps – but that is the rub of the green.
Similar to McSweeney the day before, Harris could not seal the deal. A century would have made put him in the box seat, but he lost his wicket in disappointing fashion – hanging his bat outside off stump to a ball from Prasidh Krishna that seamed away.
Selectors now face a judgment call between a younger player in career-best form who could start generational change in an ageing side but would be venturing into the uncharted waters of Test cricket in an unfamiliar batting position, or an in-form and seasoned specialist opener who has shown he can graft tough runs at the top level, albeit inconsistently.
McSweeney has superior numbers this season to Harris in both Shield and Australia A games, but is unproven as an opener and has only a modest record at No.3 with one century and an average of 31 from 15 innings.
Australia’s batting concerns are dwarfed when compared to India’s. Even with Michael Neser hamstrung and unavailable, India A succumbed to some incisive bowling from Nathan McAndrew and all-rounder Beau Webster.
For the second time in the game, opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, a contender to replace skipper Rohit Sharma, was dismissed in a manner that would encourage Australia’s vaunted pace trio, forcing hard at a fullish delivery from McAndrew that a Test-class player would ordinarily leave.
KL Rahul, another prospective replacement, lost his wicket in bizarre fashion, bowled for 10 not offering a stroke to off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli only to have the ball deflect off his pad between his legs.
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