Ryan Harris bats for Australia new quick bowling brigade

Former Australian pace bowler Ryan Harris came in support of the Australian bowling attack. The bowling lineup boasted of no renowned names. The absence of the likes of Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood has certainly hurt Australia. They are staring down a 5-0 whitewash against South Africa at the moment. While the Protea batsmen have made merry on the field, the new pace brigade has failed miserably for Australia.

However, Ryan Harris believes that the bowlers wouldn’t be affected by it. “I wouldn’t say they’re scarred,” quotes Harris. Chris Tremain, Dan Worrall and Joe Mennie have been the new ball bowlers for Australia in South Africa thus far. Joe Mennie was taken away for 0/82 in his only outing for Australia. Chris Tremain bagged 4 wickets in 3 matches but at an average over 47. Dan Worrall played an ODI against Ireland and 2 against South Africa. He returned with cumulative figures of 1/171.

Clearly, the new pace brigade looked lackluster and there were speculations that they will feel bogged down. But Harris believes it the other way. He said the quickies are keen on learning. He said they have been asking questions to him and bowling coach David Saker.

“They’re asking lots of questions, a little bit to me but more so David Saker. He (Saker) had been unreal with them, he’s been such a big help and I’ve been under his wing, listening to what he’s saying to them and giving them confidence,” quoted Ryan Harris.

He further admitted that the players know they haven’t done well. He admits the execution has gone wrong for them. He believes that the players must learn and most players go through this phase.“They know they haven’t bowled that well but they also know they can bowl better. We always talk about that word execution, we just haven’t done that. They’ve got to learn, there’s a little bit to go yet but we’ve all been there. I was there, there have been a lot of blokes,” said Harris.

Harris also maintained that the situations are not favorable. This is making it tougher for the bowlers to adapt quickly. “We know that they’re good bowlers, there’s no doubt about that. They’ve got a lot of ability, it’s just when you step up in conditions that we’re in it makes it harder to learn as quick as you should, or you can,” cited Ryan Harris.

He admits that the criticism has been huge. But at the same time pointed that the bowlers did a good job in the 4th ODI. It was an improved performance. “There’s been a lot of criticism, I’ve read some of it but they have to learn at some stage and there’s only one way to learn, and that’s to play it. They had an opportunity on this tour and they’ve done the best they can at the time.We know they need improvement, they know they need improvement and in the game (at Port Elizabeth last Sunday) I thought Tremain and Boland bowled beautifully up front.”

Talking about the dismal series outing for Australia, Ryan Harris believes that the team is better than what the scorecard suggests. He also credited South Africa and blamed the flat wickets at the same time. He said, “I think they’re better than what this series has shown. I think coming into a series against pretty good players in their own backyard, small grounds and flat wickets it’s a bloody hard thing to do,”

He added that the bowlers just need to stay focused. He believes the team is strong enough to win matches. “I don’t think they (the current group of ODI bowlers) need to do too much to be honest, they just need to be focused on the day and execute. We’ve got good enough players in this team to win cricket games,” conceded Harris.