In recent days I've been frustrated by the disruptive presence on the ESPN Cricinfo website of a large advert proclaiming the virtues of a treatment for painful joints. A painful reminder, too, of Ryan Harris' lengthy battle against his own right knee injury; a battle in which he has now conceded defeat.
There aren't many bowlers in the current game who can boast a tally of 100+ Test wickets with a sub-24 average, which makes Ryan Harris pretty special. He played only 27 Tests for Australia yet he himself admitted that was 27 more than he expected. Let's face it, he is one of those late developers, only making his ODI debut at the age of 29, and in the baggy green for five-day cricket a year later.
A total of 51 internationals across all formats in six years is a paltry number these days, but I'm sure that a fit Ryan Harris would have doubled that tally, so important was he to the Aussie attack marshalled by Ponting, Clarke or Smith. His big bustling frame belied his skill as a fast-medium swing merchant who could not only take wickets but keep top batsmen very quiet. Just over half his 113 Test victims were English, and most were outside Australia, notably in England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
The critics may say that he would have been useless in India, but I counter that he would probably have performed better there than Indian seamers have done in Australia! His Test debut came in Wellington in March 2010, when his six wickets contributed to a ten-wicket hammering of Daniel Vettori's New Zealand. The Sydney contest with India proved to be his swansong, where he was rather less influential. He was left out of the World Cup squad in an attempt to prolong his career at least as far as the 2015 Ashes. Sadly the Kent warm-up match proved to be his last first-class appearance before doctors ruled him out of the series. A cracked tibia was the medical verdict and not even Ryan Harris can bowl with a broken leg! At 35, he clearly felt he had nothing left to fight for, and called it a day.
He could also give the ball a fearsome whack, and boasted three Test 50s to his name. I saw him live only once, at The Oval in 2013, where he thumped 33 in 27 balls as part of a late-order blitz following a long rain delay and Steve Smith's first century. He then proceeded to bowl several consecutive maidens to Alastair Cook. My favourite Ryan Harris statistic is his T20 international scoring rate of 200. OK, he faced just one delivery, from which he scored two runs, but a stat is a stat!
In these times of vicious sledging and unfriendly relations, with fast bowlers particularly prone to indiscretions, Ryan Harris stood out as a good bloke with the right attitude. Maybe it was the knowledge that his career was teetering on the brink as a result of his recurring knee problems but he won lots of friends around the world. WE all love to hate Mitch Johnson and others, but Harris earned a great deal of respect wherever he played.
Starc and Hazelwood starred in the Aussies' victory over Essex this week and Peter Siddle remains an important ingredient in the bowling mix. Pat Cummins has been called up, ironic given his own injuries when a teenage prodigy. Nearly four years after his first and only Test, Cummins incredibly has only six first-class appearances to his name. At least he is only 22 but if he is still playing at the age of 35 and claims a Test bowling average comparable to Ryan Harris, he will do well.
Whatever the outcome of the Ashes this summer, Ryan Harris will definitely be missed.
