AUS A vs IND A: Marcus Harris leads race to open against India in Perth Test after gritty 74 at MCG

Australia batter Marcus Harris leads the race to open against India in the first Test in Perth starting November 22. The left-handed opener pressed his case for a Test return following his gritty 74 (for Australia A) against India A on day two of the second unofficial Test at the MCG. Harris was Australia A’s highest scorer, with their number 10 Corey Rocchiccioli second on the list for scoring 35.

The other Test hopefuls failed to deliver, with two contenders fighting for the same spot – Cameron Bancroft and Sam Konstas scoring three each.

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Cricket Australia’s chief selector George Bailey was present at the venue, with the latest reports suggesting that selectors have zeroed in on Harris and Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney as part of the 13-man Aussie squad for the first Test to be announced after the conclusion of this game. However, no official word on their selection is made public.

Asked if he did enough to ensure that he plays the first Test against India, Harris said if he gets a call-up, he is ready to pounce on this chance and make it count.

“I think, externally obviously this game was getting built up a lot, which is fair enough. I feel like I've been batting well, but so have lots of other people,” Harris said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“So, if I get called upon I feel like I'm ready to go, and if I don't, then so be it. I feel pretty well-equipped. I think maybe if I was in this position 12 months ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to perform the way I have at the start of this season. My results last year probably said that. So I've been proud of that,” he continued.

‘I’ll open in the first game’

Harris opened in both matches against India A, with Sam Konstas in the first Test and McSweeney in the next. Though 17, 36 and 74 (across three outings) put him in a commanding position to take up that vacant top-order spot in Australia’s Test side, Harris revealed what he made of the brief chat he had with the selectors in the lead-up to both games.

"They just said that I'll open in the first game, and we're not really sure what's going to happen with the second game," Harris said. "So, I don't know if that was the plan."

Harris admitted enjoying scoring runs on a difficult wicket on day two at MCG; he, however, shied away from reading too much into it, given how the situation panned out for him last year when the selectors picked Matthew Renshaw ahead of him for the away Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

"It was probably pretty obvious what was happening. You'd have to ask them, to be honest. You never know. Like last year, for example, we had the bat-off in Canberra, and they picked Renners [Matt Renshaw], who was batting at three. So, yeah, I don't know,” Harris continued.

Meanwhile, after getting all out on 223 in reply to India A’s 161 in the first innings, Australia A reduced their opponents to 73 for five at stumps on day two, with the visitors leading by 11 runs.

(With inputs from agencies)