‘He's a fantastic bloke around the squad’ – Justin Langer backs Marcus Harris to stall mediocre run in Melbourne Test

Australia head coach Justin Langer has backed Marcus Harris to come good in the third Ashes Test to be played from Sunday, December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The left-handed Harris hasn’t got going in the five-match Test series, having scored only 38 runs from four innings at an average of 12.66.

Even as the Aussies have already taken a 2-0 lead following their wins in Brisbane and Adelaide, Harris is yet to find his mojo with the bat in hand. Ahead of the upcoming Test at the iconic venue, Langer said that there’s no reason to press the panic button and drop Harris for now.

The veteran said that familiarity with the playing conditions in Melbourne may help the 29-year-old Harris get his rhythm back. Despite not being able to score big, Langer sounded confident about the southpaw making the most of his opportunities in the purest format.

He’s a very good player, says Justin Langer

“He’ll play in the Test, no worries about that. This is his home ground. He’s played a lot at the MCG. He hasn’t made the runs he’d like to so far, but he dominates domestic cricket. So, he knows that he knows how to play. He’s a fantastic bloke around the squad … And we know he’s a very good player,” Langer was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo on December 23.

“For him and for us, we’re hoping he plays well and gets a good partnership with Davey Warner in this Boxing Day Test match. We’re really confident Marcus has got what it takes to be a successful Australian opening batsman. And what we see in the nets, what we see in domestic cricket all adds up to what is potentially a very good Test career. We’re determined to get that right,” he added.

In the two Tests thus far, Harris has been able to cross the single-digit score only once. His top score of 23 came in the second innings of the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval. Since his debut in 2018, Harris has scored 466 runs from 12 Tests at an average of 22.19 with two half-centuries to his name.