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Rediff.com  » Cricket » Ashes: Pacer Harris all set to fire at Adelaide
This article was first published 10 years ago

Ashes: Pacer Harris all set to fire at Adelaide

December 02, 2013 13:38 IST

Image: Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris looks on during an Australian nets session at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Monday
Photographs: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images

Australia paceman Ryan Harris will be holding nothing back in the second Ashes Test against England this week even if his injury track record suggests he will struggle to play all five Tests in the series.

A litany of injuries since making his debut in 2010 has prevented Harris from completing a five-match Test series, his best effort being four of five matches in England earlier this year when he was his country's outstanding bowler.

With Adelaide likely to be the toughest venue for the quick bowlers, some have suggested Australia would be wise to revive their rotation policy and save the 34-year-old for the third Test on a more pace-friendly wicket in Perth.

Having grabbed five wickets for 77 runs to help Australia take a series lead with a thumping 381-run victory in the opening Test in Brisbane, though, Harris has no intention of taking it easy at the Adelaide Oval.

"I'll be all guns blazing here," he told reporters on Monday. "I'm not going to miss a Test unless I really have to. I've said that from the start, I'm here to play five.

"I had the turnaround in England and I got through okay. The wickets here are a little harder, that's probably the only difference.

'I will be used as usual, there's no good playing if you're being held back'

Image: Ryan Harris speaks to the media during an press conference on Monday
Photographs: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images

"I'm feeling good, obviously the extra rest after Brisbane helped but I'm feeling good and ready to go here."

Harris, who is expected to reprise his partnership with Peter Siddle and Gabba standout Mitchell Johnson in a three-pronged pace unit, also dimissed the idea that skipper Michael Clarke might use him more sparingly.

"I will be used as usual, there's no good playing if you're being held back, you've got to go in 110 percent," he added.

"You can't have one bloke going half-hearted because it puts pressure on your two or three other bowlers.

"I've just got to make sure whatever I do between Tests I get right and feel good and I'm confident I can do that."

That said, Harris believes all-rounder Shane Watson would contribute with the ball more than at the Gabba having fully recovered from a hamstring strain.

'We're still going to be aggressive'

Image: James Faulkner with teammates during an Australian nets session at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, on Monday
Photographs: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images

The trip to Adelaide is something of a homecoming for Harris, who spent nearly a decade with South Australia before moving north to join Queensland.

The wicket for this week's Test, which starts on Thursday, will be a drop-in track and Harris expects it to be hard work for the pace bowlers and offer more potential for leg before wicket dismissals.

"It's just a challenge, but we all know what we've got to do and the changes we've got to make," he said.

"We're still going to be aggressive, we've said that from the start, and we'll assess the wicket and do whatever we can here."

Clarke turned his right ankle in training on Monday but later batted in the nets without any further problem, Cricket Australia said. 

Source: REUTERS
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