Test quick Harris ready to defy pain again

The ache in his surgically repaired knee won’t be going away any time soon for Queensland’s returning Test quick Ryan Harris.

But the pain of watching Australia being thrashed in their last Test series against Pakistan appeared to hurt more.

Harris admits these days he needs to “brace himself” in order to cope with the pain in his troublesome knee before every spell.

It’s a skill he hopes to hone in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash with Tasmania starting in Brisbane on Tuesday, his last hit-out before the Gabba Test against India starting on December 4.

Harris had mastered it in his last Test in South Africa in March – but he hasn’t played since due to knee surgery.

While he admitted he would be honest with selectors about how he pulled up from the Shield clash before the first Test, Harris was quietly confident he could again defy the pain barrier this week.

“There always has been (knee pain) for the past five or six years,” Harris said.

“It’s probably better than what it has been in the past.

“It’s just getting used to that pain again and getting through the pain barrier – which I know I can do.”

Asked if he had to “brace himself” before each spell, Harris said: “I do.

“The thing I struggled with in South Africa when I was stiff and sore was the first two or three balls in an over which usually went for four.

“I told Michael (Clarke) back then give me eight to 12 balls notice so I make sure that first ball isn’t 110kph.

“It’s something I had to work on in South Africa and got it right – I just have to make sure I get it right now.”

But watching Australia lose 2-0 to Pakistan in the UAE sounded like it stung deeper.

“I was watching that and it was very frustrating,” he said.

“A lot of people were saying ‘you would have been happy to miss that one’ – I wasn’t obviously.

“Our last Test series wasn’t great so it’s a big challenge to step up and get back to the joys of last summer (5-0 Ashes win) – we want that joy back.”

Harris impressed in his first-class comeback from knee surgery last week, taking match figures of 7-118 and hitting a run-a-ball 50 in the Bulls’ 188-run win over NSW at the Gabba.

But the hard-marking 35-year-old insisted he needed more match practice against Tasmania to cope with the rigours of Test cricket.

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