Former Australian fast bowler and South Australian coach Ryan Harris says the current generation of batsmen are not technically good in Test cricket because of T20 but the shorter version of the game has contributed to teams looking to score quick runs. The 45-year-old also talks about Australia’s lack of openers, why India have done so well in Australia and dismisses speculation that the Australian team is factionalised. fractions.
That ball to Alastair Cook at Perth (2013). Do you still watch it?
Yes it still pops up on my TV now and then… mostly every year around October for my birthday. To this day I don’t know how I bowled that ball. I’ve been trying to ball one of those balls for 15 years before that. It was unique in how it was pitched and then moved a little bit after it was pitched and was able to just hit that bail. It’s great that people still remember it.
The better the better! 🔥
Ryan Harris’ wonderball to Alastair Cook is a deserved number 1 in our countdown of the best. # ash Delivering to Australia since 1990. pic.twitter.com/FgcNdCozJM
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 7, 2021
Pink ball, how is it different from red?
As I understand it, it is more of an artificial color. So it is not known how long this red ball will last. We just finished playing South Australia against Western Australia at the Adelaide Oval last week. And it was a day and night game. And the ball didn’t seem as soft as it had in the past. So a lot of work has gone into the pink ball. It was thrown with color. That was not the case last week. For us it went around and around for about 15-20 overs. But later it slowed down a bit. The middle overs are where the batters can definitely make money. How the wicket looks like and how much grass is placed on it will be a determining factor.
Are the batsmen of today less capable than those of your time?
yes I believe the batters technique is not that good. There seems to be a hit out or get out and stick around mentality. I think T20 probably caused that. Positively and negatively. The Virats, the Smiths, they’ll dig because they’re so good. Where the younger guys would probably go, ‘I might as well try and hit it before it gets me’. T20 has helped the game of Test cricket because we have seen the scoring rate increase and we have seen 350 to 400 scores in a day. But I think the technical thing is not that good. And I see this most likely in young Australians. Hacking the ball is probably a priority over trying to master good technique or good defense.
Was it unfair for Nathan McSweeney to open the innings in Perth after being a lifelong middle-order batsman?
I think he’s got the game to be on top. He is technically sound and has the temperament and mentality to excel at this level. I have seen this first hand. He can play test cricket.
Is there a shortage of openers in Australia?
Yes, to an extent. We have two openers who have been scoring runs for many years – Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft. And the selectors let them go and it seems they are not happy. So they are obviously not willing to go back to them. So now the idea is to try to find another opening pair. Hopefully, Ujji (Usman Khawaja) will get through this series and reach the Ashes. We’ve got another young kid in New South Wales, Sam Konstas, who scored a century for the PM XI. I don’t believe he’s ready yet. Everyone is saying, throw him in, but once you throw him in and he fails twice, then they’ll say, ‘No, now we’ve got him in too soon’. Let Sam score four or five centuries in two seasons. I think when he is worrying about his position and worrying about who is bowling to him in Test cricket.
How would you rate the quality of fast bowling in this series?
I think it’s a battle of the bowlers in the series, obviously, the batsman has to score runs, but it’s a battle between the bowling units. Bumrah stood out in the first Test.
Will Australia be able to return?
You don’t like being upstaged in your own country. Pat Cummins is a fighter. He is a perfectionist. And you know, he will ask his players to step up in this Test match. So, there’s no doubt that Cummins will be looking to bounce back and make sure the plans are a little nicer and tighter.
Do you think India have cracked the code on how to win in Australia?
There is no doubt about them. I mean West Indies tied the series last year but we have not lost any other series except India. So there is no doubt that India will find a way to win. They are not afraid of the pitch. They are not afraid of speed. They are not afraid of the bounce. And they’ve obviously done a lot of homework.
According to Harris, Mohammed Shami is in the best seam position. (Sportzpics)
Is there a faction in the Australian cricket team?
Look, there is no faction. All that is just garbage. I have also heard Mr. (Sunil) Gavaskar come out and say that there is some faction. This is not the case in Australia. I know it happens in India. I have lived there. The Australian media has jumped on it, because we went so badly in Perth. But you are allowed to outplay. What the Australian media and people understand is that India have won the last two times here and they are a very good team. I have all respect for Mr. Gavaskar but he has thrown a few grenades here and the media is having a feast.
Is wrist position more important than sideways action for a swing bowler?
That’s a good question. For me, it was the wrist position. Trying to get my wrist behind the ball as much as possible. And even then, if my swing goes down, I can live with it. When I jump into my action, I cock my wrist back so I can give that ball a good flick. That, for me, was the main thing.
How did you develop a wobble seam?
For me, it was more about trying to keep the seam as straight as possible or at a slight angle to move the ball where I wanted it to go. I wasn’t a big fan of the wobble seam. We see Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood doing that a lot (wobble seam). I had a wobble seam… I didn’t hold my wrist right so the ball wobbled out. I did not attempt any wobble seam bowling. Ultimately, I’m trying to swing the ball as much as I can.
Who has the most beautiful seam position in modern day?
Mohammed Shami has this beautiful vertical seam position, wrist position. I spent a year with Shami at Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), played with him, and for me he is unreal. He runs fast and delivers the ball as fast as he can, but he’s able to do it with a beautiful seam, a beautiful wrist. It is a beautiful length.
Do you think you have, at some point in your career, achieved the ideal wrist position?
Yes, I think I did. At the risk of sounding arrogant for most of my Test career, I felt like my action, my wrists and my hands and everything felt really good. I was able to execute most of the balls I tried to hit. For that to happen, you have to be in a really good place with your work. Maybe in the last six months of my career I was struggling a bit with my body. I felt a little lost. But then I had a second wind when I went away and took a little break, and then did some training and found it again.
You have played a total of 27 Tests. Do you have any regrets?
I wish I had trained a little harder earlier in my career, to allow me to play longer. Playing 27 Tests was still unbelievable for me. I thought I would never play Test cricket, if I was going to play for Australia, it would always be ODIs, or T20 cricket, but to play 27 Tests is fantastic.