Australia’s man-of-the-Ashes Ryan Harris doesn’t want to be wrapped in cotton wool and is determined to be back taking wickets in just three weeks.
Showing his heightened star appeal, Harris was mobbed by schoolboys at Brisbane Airport on Thursday morning after flying back from England following the 3-0 series loss.
The 33-year-old injury-plagued paceman was the stand-out bowler of the Ashes, taking 24 wickets at an average of 20 in four Tests, but finished with a hamstring twinge on the final day of the fifth Test.
Harris has been hit hard by knee, ankle, shoulder and hip injuries since breaking into the Australian Test team in 2010 and Cricket Australia is keen to take a cautious approach leading into the home Ashes series, starting in November.
The Queensland quick will undergo scans on his hamstring on Thursday afternoon but believes he’ll be fit to play with Brisbane Heat in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India, if given the official nod.
“It’s not as bad as I thought,” said Harris.
“I’m confident it’s not major, I barely felt it.
“I was really looking forward to getting through this series and playing as many games as I could and then playing with the Brisbane Heat guys.”
The Champions League starts on September 18 while the Heat’s first match is on September 22 against Trinidad and Tobago.
Harris feels he needs more bowling, rather than less, to keep himself in top shape for the return Ashes, and the Champions Trophy provides the competition he craves.
“I need to keep going,” he said. “There’s been discussions as to whether I should be going due to injury concerns.
“But I’m going to be bowling here anyway so I might as well do it in games.”
Members of the Peninsula under-12 representative rugby union squad from Cairns mobbed Harris as he picked up his bags on flying home.
As much as he loved playing four straight Tests for the first time, he remained gutted by the series defeat.
“To get through four Tests and perform was good but, at the end of the day, the results were bad,” he said.
“The good thing is they come back here in November and we can try and get the urn back then.”