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Harris in 'good spirits' as axed opener makes Vic return
By Jon Pierik
Dumped Test batsman Marcus Harris will look to rebuild his career when he returns for Victoria in Sunday's one-day clash against NSW at the MCG.
Harris had been favoured to retain his spot in the Test XI for this week's series opener against Pakistan but he was unable to deliver the big score in the Australia A game required to ensure selection.
He fell for 16 and 20, continuing a run of low scores since his first-innings half century against Western Australia in Perth.
It's the second time Harris has been dropped from the Test side this year, for Cameron Bancroft took his place for the opening two Ashes Tests. Harris returned for the final three Tests but managed only 58 runs at 9.66 in a series where both nations struggled at the top of the order.
Victoria coach Lachlan Stevens said Harris remained in good spirits and would be a welcome return.
"It is always great when he is in our side. He is an upbeat sort of person. He has actually been playing some pretty good cricket, too. Obviously, the Pakistanis bowled beautifully over in Perth, knocked over the Australia A side, but 'Harry' has been playing some pretty good cricket. Hopefully, he can bring that to a one-day game on Sunday," he said.
Marcus Harris will be back in action for Victoria in the one-day cup.Credit: Getty Images
"He is in good spirits. He is not the sort of guy that drags his feet, no matter what is happening. He enjoys his cricket and I am sure he will enjoy being back with us on Sunday."
A season that promised so much has begun to slip away for Victoria, who now find themselves fighting to remain in the hunt for the Sheffield Shield after an outright loss to Queensland on Friday and needing a miracle to defend their one-day domestic title.
The Vics are in fourth spot on the one-day domestic ladder, 10 points behind competition leaders Queensland and Western Australia, with two matches remaining. They need to win both, dramatically improve their net run rate and claim a bonus point and then rely on other results going their way to have any chance of making the final on November 26.
They sit last on the Shield table, their hopes of also defending this title in serious trouble for a variety of reasons.
"We are not travelling too bad. I agree, the ladder doesn't look great, we haven't had a win yet in four games ... but I think we have played some good cricket and we have come up against some good opposition," Stevens said.
Teenage batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk, who impressed in his Shield debut against the Bulls with scores of 51 and 19, could make his one-day debut, as the Vics prepare for their first 50-overs contest at the MCG for the first time since 2012-13.
There has been no timeline set for Will Pucovski, Glenn Maxwell and Nic Maddinson - who are all dealing with mental health issues - to return.
Victoria squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Xavier Crone, Travis Dean, Andrew Fekete, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Jon Holland, Matthew Short, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland.
NSW: Peter Nevill (c), Nick Bertus, Harry Conway, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Liam Hatcher, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha.