Harris to go all guns blazing
4 Dec 2013 3:59 AM IST
Coach Darren Lehmann has made it clear that Australia’s controversial bowler rotation policy, designed to guard against them breaking down from too much cricket, is over - which means Harris will not be rested.
Harris dismissed speculation he may bowl in shorter spells to preserve his injury-prone body. ‘I’ll be all guns blazing here,’ the 34-year-old told reporters before the Test starting on Thursday.
‘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 it okay. The wickets here are a little harder, that’s probably the only difference.
‘If I was only going in bowling 30, 35 overs I wouldn’t play because you can’t have that,’ he added. ‘You can’t have one bloke going half-hearted because it puts pressure on your two or three other bowlers. So I’m going in as if I’m bowling 50 overs, it doesn’t really matter how many I bowl.’
Australia won the first Test in Brisbane by a massive 381 runs. With England’s veteran number three Jonathan Trott back in England with a stress-related problem, their batsmen have plenty to prove in Adelaide. Harris wants to see Ian Bell promoted up the order into the pivotal first-drop role, instead of Joe Root.
‘It’s a great loss with Trotty not there, it’s going to be interesting to see who they put in there,’ Harris said. ‘Hopefully it’s Bell, because we get an earlier chance to get him out, that is what I’m thinking. ‘I want to get him in there early. He did very well in that last series and he came in at times when they were under the pump and made big scores.
‘It (number three) obviously gives him more time to get in, but it also gives us more time to have a crack at him.’ England’s batting coach Graham Gooch said Bell, who batted number five in the Ashes opener in Brisbane, and Root, who batted six, were candidates for three. ‘Both of them could do it but we’ll decide what is best,’ he said.
Graham Gooch says Sledging is a compliment
ADELAIDE: England batting coach Graham Gooch on Monday said anyone in the team getting sledged by Australia should take it as a compliment.
The first Test in Brisbane, which Australia won by 381 runs, was tarnished by constant sledging as frustrations boiled over, culminating in skipper Michael Clarke being caught by a stump microphone telling England’s Jimmy Anderson to expect a broken arm.
The taunts unsettled several England players with the batsmen struggling in both innings against a fiery Mitchell Johnson. Gooch, a 118-Test veteran, believes the tourists will face more goading in the second Test this week in Adelaide and said it generally happened when a batsman or bowler was playing well. ‘If someone comes with sledging, people deal with it in different ways,’ said the former England captain who scored nearly 9,000 Test runs.
‘Some people it motivates, makes them play better, more determined.’ Some people it can unsettle. But generally sledging is about getting you to play the man and not the ball, get your focus off the ball. ‘Players I’ve seen who’ve dealt with it best either smile at the opposition or take it as a compliment.’
Michael Clarke limps through practice session
ADELAIDE: Skipper Michael Clarke alarmed Australian ranks on Monday when he appeared to turn his ankle before completing a net session without complaint just days before the start of the second Ashes Test. Clarke was seen limping slightly, favouring his right ankle, as the Australians performed fielding drills at Adelaide in preparation for the match starting on Thursday. He repeatedly flexed his ankle but then headed for some batting practice and appeared unaffected throughout. ‘He has completed a nets session and is OK,’ CA said.
Harris dismissed speculation he may bowl in shorter spells to preserve his injury-prone body. ‘I’ll be all guns blazing here,’ the 34-year-old told reporters before the Test starting on Thursday.
‘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 it okay. The wickets here are a little harder, that’s probably the only difference.
‘If I was only going in bowling 30, 35 overs I wouldn’t play because you can’t have that,’ he added. ‘You can’t have one bloke going half-hearted because it puts pressure on your two or three other bowlers. So I’m going in as if I’m bowling 50 overs, it doesn’t really matter how many I bowl.’
Australia won the first Test in Brisbane by a massive 381 runs. With England’s veteran number three Jonathan Trott back in England with a stress-related problem, their batsmen have plenty to prove in Adelaide. Harris wants to see Ian Bell promoted up the order into the pivotal first-drop role, instead of Joe Root.
‘It’s a great loss with Trotty not there, it’s going to be interesting to see who they put in there,’ Harris said. ‘Hopefully it’s Bell, because we get an earlier chance to get him out, that is what I’m thinking. ‘I want to get him in there early. He did very well in that last series and he came in at times when they were under the pump and made big scores.
‘It (number three) obviously gives him more time to get in, but it also gives us more time to have a crack at him.’ England’s batting coach Graham Gooch said Bell, who batted number five in the Ashes opener in Brisbane, and Root, who batted six, were candidates for three. ‘Both of them could do it but we’ll decide what is best,’ he said.
Graham Gooch says Sledging is a compliment
ADELAIDE: England batting coach Graham Gooch on Monday said anyone in the team getting sledged by Australia should take it as a compliment.
The first Test in Brisbane, which Australia won by 381 runs, was tarnished by constant sledging as frustrations boiled over, culminating in skipper Michael Clarke being caught by a stump microphone telling England’s Jimmy Anderson to expect a broken arm.
The taunts unsettled several England players with the batsmen struggling in both innings against a fiery Mitchell Johnson. Gooch, a 118-Test veteran, believes the tourists will face more goading in the second Test this week in Adelaide and said it generally happened when a batsman or bowler was playing well. ‘If someone comes with sledging, people deal with it in different ways,’ said the former England captain who scored nearly 9,000 Test runs.
‘Some people it motivates, makes them play better, more determined.’ Some people it can unsettle. But generally sledging is about getting you to play the man and not the ball, get your focus off the ball. ‘Players I’ve seen who’ve dealt with it best either smile at the opposition or take it as a compliment.’
Michael Clarke limps through practice session
ADELAIDE: Skipper Michael Clarke alarmed Australian ranks on Monday when he appeared to turn his ankle before completing a net session without complaint just days before the start of the second Ashes Test. Clarke was seen limping slightly, favouring his right ankle, as the Australians performed fielding drills at Adelaide in preparation for the match starting on Thursday. He repeatedly flexed his ankle but then headed for some batting practice and appeared unaffected throughout. ‘He has completed a nets session and is OK,’ CA said.
Next Story
