Ryan Harris was effectively ruled out of contention for the first Investec Test in Cardiff when he was unable to be passed fit for the tourists’ final warm-up against Essex, instead being sent for scans to determine the cause of greater knee pain than he has become accustomed to.
In Harris’ absence the Australian bowling attack for the Cardiff Test is all but settled, with Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to accompany the spin of Nathan Lyon, as they did during two Tests in the West Indies that Harris missed to be home for the birth of his first child.
The first two Ashes Tests of the series are being played back-to-back in Cardiff and at Lord’s, leaving Harris with little chance to prove his ability to cope with the stresses of bowling until the Australians play a county fixture in Derby before the third Test of the series in Birmingham.
During the last week’s match against Kent, Harris experienced soreness in his right knee – a source of chronic discomfort and multiple surgeries during his Test career – and admitted he had to get used to the feeling if he was to be effective in the Tests.
However his ailment was particularly stubborn as the team moved on to Essex and he was ruled out in favour of Peter Siddle on the first morning of the game in Chelmsford.
This is a major blow for Harris, who had hoped to be fit for all five Tests after a careful preparation for the series. Harris has conceded his body has not got much bowling left in it, and team management will be worried that he has been unable to come through at this early stage of the tour.
The coach Darren Lehmann had said Harris needed to prove himself capable of withstanding a Test match workload of around 20 overs per innings before being seriously considered for the Ashes.
“Still short of a gallop but better today to be perfectly honest,” Lehmann said of Harris after the final day of the Kent match. “So he’s going to play the next tour game provided he pulls up alright and make sure he’s 100% before we make him available for selection.”
Scans on the knee may not reveal much, but the puzzlement of Australia’s medical staff about the state of Harris’ knee casts a shadow over his chances of appearing once more in a baggy green cap.
