Ryan Harris likely to be unfit for Australia's tour to Pakistan

Ryan Harris

Injuries are part and parcel of a cricketer’s life. One cannot avoid injuries. One can only learn to deal with them.

34-year-old Ryan Harris, suffering from a knee injury expressed his disappointment towards missing Australia’s tour to Pakistan for a Test series this October. The fast bowler is eager for the tour of UAE but acknowledges that he may have to miss it.

“Playing against Pakistan is a goal, but I may struggle,” said Harris. “There is a reasonable chance I won’t be able to get up for that. With the Australian team and the culture we have got, I don’t want to miss any games of Test cricket. But, unfortunately, there might be some games I might not be able to play because of my knee”, he added.

Harris’ absence, however, may well be a blessing in disguise for Peter Siddle as he might get an opportunity to make his way back into the Australian Test team.

Harris made his debut in March 2010. Due to injuries he managed to play only 12 test matches in 3 years after that. However, he has played Australia’s last 12 matches including the one at Lord’s last July.

This dedicated right-arm fast bowler, is keen to play the Ashes series in UK in mid 2015.

“My goal is to get to the Ashes next year but I will probably reassess if and when I get there,” Harris said.

“If we go well there and I am still going all right, a home series might be nice to finish on.”

Meanwhile, in the course of winter, Siddle is spending time with English county side, Nottinghamshire. James Pattinson, who has replaced Siddle in Cape Town is working on his techniques in the winter. “Pattinson experienced some lower-back soreness at the completion of the third Test against South Africa,” Cricket Australia said.

“As such, advice from CA medical staff is for Pattinson to take a cautious approach during the off-season that will include rehabilitation, strength, conditioning and technique modification,” they added.

Harris who has freshly been named as an assistant coach for Australia A winter series against India A and South Africa A, has started pondering over life after playing.

“When it was offered to me I jumped at it. I didn’t think it (a coaching opportunity) would come up so soon,” Harris said earlier this month.

“When Darren (Lehmann) was at Queensland with the Heat he let me go away on a couple of trips as bowling coach, which gave me some experience. (But) I’ve still got a lot to learn.”

Australian Cricket Board will only hope that Harris recovers soon so that he can prolong his career.