Former Test opener Simon Katich says struggling opener Marcus Harris has made a slight tweak to his technique that could help him settle at Test level.
Harris was caught behind off the bowling of Stuart Broad twice in Adelaide, and at third slip by Dawid Malan off the bowling of Ollie Robinson in Brisbane.
17 of Harris’ 21 dismissals as a Test cricketer have come off a right-arm bowler, 16 from a pace bowler, and 15 have been caught, five by the keeper.
In response to his record facing the ball angling across from right-handers, Harris has made a minor adjustment.
“He just has a little preliminary movement,” Katich explained on SEN Breakfast ahead of the second day at the MCG.
“He would shuffle across almost into line with middle and off stump… just to get him across to that off stump just before that point of release.
“I think facing someone like Ollie Robinson, who nicked him off at the Gabba in the first Test, he’s probably realised he’s going to try to go across (Harris) and seam the ball away.
The Victorian opener needs a big score, having compiled just 38 runs at 12.7 over the first two Ashes Tests of the summer.
“As a left-hander, you have to try to cover that off stump and know where it is, so you can either attack on the stumps or let balls go when they’re outside your eyeline,” Katich continued.
“I think Marcus Harris was really compact yesterday, he played well and he’s playing on his home deck, so he’ll be steeling himself for a big score.”
The 29-year-old was unbeaten on 20 at stumps on Boxing Day, having negotiated more than 50 deliveries after the Australians sent the visitors in and rolled them for 185.
“When you’ve played the amount of Tests he has and haven’t scored a Test hundred, the pressure starts to build internally,” Katich explained.
“That’s something he’d want to put to bed as quickly as possible.”
Harris was given out leg-before to Ben Stokes on 36 just over an hour into the day’s play on Tuesday, but it was overturned after snicko revealed a thick inside edge.
Asked “did you think, or know?” by Stokes after the decision was reversed, Harris was sheepish.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent sure but I had a big mark on my bat,” he replied, picked up on the stump mic.
“I thought I might have clipped both pads (as well as) a little inside edge.
“Hotspot’s f** hopeless.”
Harris went to lunch unbeaten on 48 from 128 deliveries, joined by Travis Head (11 from 18).
The wickets of nightwatchman Nathan Lyon (10 from 22), Marnus Labuschagne (1 from 14) and Steve Smith (16 from 31) all fell during the morning session.