Ryan Harris is regarded as one of the great fast bowlers in Australian cricket history. He already had etched sports history with the memorable delivery that dismissed England’s Alastair Cook in the third Ashes Test of the 2013-14 series. ESPN Cricinfo hailed it as the “ball of the century.” This was an extraordinary feat that was a reflection of Harris’s poise, drive, and fire to compete. With 27 Test caps to his name, Harris has played in 12 Ashes Tests so far. He was one of the chief architects behind their 5-0 demolition of England in that series.
The 2013-14 Ashes series, already heralded as an example of Harris’ genius, was a personal triumph. It was a powerful display of the strength of collaboration. Partnering with fellow bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle, he formed a formidable pace attack specifically designed to neutralize Cook, England’s top-order batsman. Together the trio embodied what the cricket term often called a ‘tight bowling unit’, unity and one purpose.
Intimidation has only served to strengthen Harris’s resolve, a fact that has defined his life and career. Making his Test debut at the age of 31, he faced a series of injuries that could have derailed his path to success. After having had knee surgery and then being injured during the fourth Test of the 2010-11 Ashes series. These challenges surely worked to intimidate his penchant, but they never sapped his love for all things basketball.
In a match against England, Harris delivered an astonishing first innings performance of 7-40, including a remarkable spell that saw him take five wickets for just 16 runs in five overs. This match determined his reputation as a great fast bowler. It was crucial to Australia’s historic lopsided domination in that Ashes series.
Personally, Harris was suffering yet, too. He once had to apologize for a drunken tweet after being denied entry into Crown Casino, a reminder that even sports icons encounter difficulties off the field.
After a brief period without a contract from South Australia, Harris rebounded. He won his state contract retender as a first reserve. His dogged persistence and work ethic were well rewarded in turn. Recovering form and fitness in 2015 he managed to gain selection in the Australia squad for the Ashes series in the UK, once again while attempting to regain his full fitness.
Harris’s influence on the game was not lost on his contemporaries. Kevin Pietersen, a former England international cricketer, referred to Harris as “the best Australian seamer he ever faced,” highlighting the respect he garnered from opponents.
“The bowlers in 2013-14, we were really tight, and we still are. We spent a lot of time together and we didn’t talk cricket all the time. When it came to the cricket stuff, we communicated so well. It was almost a team within a team.” – Ryan Harris
Reflecting on his experience during the 2013-14 Ashes series, Harris recounted how Australian captain Michael Clarke brought the fast bowlers together to strategize against Cook.
“Michael pulled the fast bowlers aside. He said ‘you guys are going to win this for us. We’re going to target Cookie, make sure he’s not getting off to a good start’.” – Ryan Harris
All this proved to be a pretty smart approach, as Harris and his teammates followed their script perfectly. They wanted to play tough without being trash talkers.
“We wanted to play that way. We wanted to be aggressive, but we didn’t have a plan to go hard with verbal stuff.” – Ryan Harris
Harris confesses, though, that there were times in matches that he felt doubt creep in. As he sprinted in to bowl, another voice in his head told him to quit. Not to heed that uneasy feeling, he went forward with courage.
“I was running into bowl and halfway through the voice in my head said ‘stop’. I didn’t. I don’t know why I didn’t.” – Ryan Harris
Harris introduced amazing individual acts as music careers grew. He was a maestro on the Australian national team, which recently pulled off historic wins against South Africa. His presence was always valuable in boosting the unit’s level of play time and time again.
Harris’s nickname “Rhino” does justice both to his ballast and bad mood, as well as his indomitable black optimism on the field. Not only was he quick, but his discipline at sustained periods of pressure opened up batsmen’s vulnerabilities that fast bowlers could smell blood with.
“I’m not talking about physical fear, but the way he was bowling they would have thought ‘how am I going to score?’. The way he was able to maintain pressure while bowling fast. Hitting the stumps, hitting the pads. That’s the fear I’m talking about.” – Ryan Harris
In this piece, Harris looks back on his own career as a cricketer and explains why brotherhood among fast bowlers is so important. He credits their shared mentality for getting them through stressful championship battles.
“Boof had a massive meeting about how we all have to be in it together.” – Ryan Harris
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