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Daniel Brettig
October 27, 2011
As he readies himself for a new-ball duel with Dale Steyn, Australia's fast bowler of the moment Ryan Harris has said the teenager Pat Cummins has all the attributes to return the broadsides of South Africa's own lofty pace aggressor Morne Morkel.
Harris was Australia's spearhead on the tour of Sri Lanka, and he built an ominous head of steam for his next Test match assignment while routing Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba. He will depart for South Africa on Saturday with plenty of anticipation, both for the likely conditions and the chance to measure himself against Steyn.
Though four years Harris' junior, Steyn is a far more experienced and accomplished international bowler, the world No.1 in Test cricket. Steyn's global success, with a method based on fast outswing, has been a source of inspiration for Harris as his career bloomed at an age when many pacemen are contemplating retirement.
"I try to bowl similarly to what he does, bowl fast outswingers, so I guess we're similar in a way. But he's played international cricket a lot longer than me and been very successful at it," Harris told ESPNcricinfo. "I've watched him a fair bit, there's obviously reasons why he's the No.1 fast bowler in the world. It's going to be a contest but I'll just do what I've got to do and let him do what he has to do, but it is going to be good fun bowling against him.
"We bowl with a very similar method and with the conditions the way they are over there and the wickets we're playing on in Cape Town and Johannesburg I think they're going to be great conditions to bowl in. Although I haven't played over there in Tests I've had experience in our conditions that are nearly as close to if not the same as conditions over there. I'm confident I can do a good job over there and I'm aiming to take the form I had in Sri Lanka over there with me."
The major change to the Australian team that performed so soundly in Sri Lanka is the addition of Cummins to the squad. While the balance of the Test attack in South Africa is yet to be settled, Harris had few qualms about a debut for the 18-year-old, even admitting the 192cm Cummins possessed the sort of attributes he had wished for as a younger bowler.
"To be able to be that height and bowl that pace, it is everything I wanted to do and wanted to be I guess, be a bit taller," Harris said. "To bowl 145kph consistently at that height, if he does play both Tests it is going to be a good battle between him and Morne Morkel [196cm]. Pat's up there for height and bowls just as quick.
"It has been a very fast rise for him but a very successful one. He's bowling fast and obviously getting wickets. I think there's a good chance of him playing both Tests. I'd have thought Johannesburg in particular would be quite fast and bouncy, so I wouldn't be surprised if four quicks are played."
A pace quartet would appear to be the best way to introduce Cummins to Test cricket, though Harris pointed to last summer's Sheffield Shield final as evidence that he would also be capable of operating in a trio, should the captain Michael Clarke prefer to choose the spin of Nathan Lyon or Michael Beer.
"It is good for all of us if there's four quicks because the load is shared perfectly, but in regards to him, I think he's showed, he's only played three first-class games but he's done a lot of bowling in the last year and a half or year," Harris said. "I remember watching the Shield final where he bowled 48 overs [in the first innings] and he didn't drop in pace too much.
"It'd be good for his body if four quicks were played but I don't think it'd make any difference. He's still going to be able to bowl fast after a fair few overs. As a young guy that shows how fit he is and how strong he is. So credit to him for being that way at 18, it is great to see a young guy come up, bowl fast and keep his body in shape, hopefully it holds together."
Harris' only previous experience in South Africa was during the 2009 Indian Premier League, which took place towards the end of the summer, as opposed to this series' scheduling on fresher pitches in November.
"It's no different to being around for the first Test at the Gabba, where it always has a little bit in it," Harris said. "We're not going to change the way we bowl too much, over in Sri Lank you've got to bowl fuller and that sort of stuff, and over there [in South Africa] you can still bowl a reasonably full length and still get the zip off the wicket.
"It's good to see the guys are doing well over there and it is no surprise they are because where we're going, the time I spent in South Africa [in the 2009 IPL] the lifestyle and conditions were very similar to what we get over here."
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