Australia v India 2014: Ryan Harris undecided about playing first Test, yet to recover from Hughes tragedy
Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris said that he is still unsure about playing the first Test against India, scheduled to start at Adelaide on December 9, as he hasn’t yet recovered from the Phillip Hughes incident.
Hughes died at St. Vincent’s Hospital on Thursday after being hit by a bouncer from fast bowler Sean Abbott during a Sheffield Shield match at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on November 25.
When asked if he will be a part of the Adelaide Test, Harris, who has resumed training today with Queensland Bulls after successful recuperating from a knee injury that kept out of action since bowing out Australia to victory against South Africa at Capetown, said: ‘’I am still thinking about it — I’m not sure. Every individual is different. I have lost my mother before and I was pushed to play for my father and my brother and it probably helped.”
He added: “But this is tough for some boys and it is going to be tough for me. I will have to work it out when I get to Adelaide and see how we all feel. The boys who were there who witness what happened I can’t speak for them because I can’t imagine what they are going through.
“Keeping busy this morning has probably not allowed me to sit around and think about the funeral tomorrow.
“Tomorrow (the funeral) is the day we are thinking about. In the back of our mind is Tuesday (the Test) and we have got to do what we can to try to prepare for that.’’
60 balls bowled during net session, no bouncers
The 35-year-old sent down 60 deliveries in the nets, none of which was a bouncer. While he admitted that it was tough to aim at a batsman’s head after what happened to Hughes, he was also confident about the game getting back to its good old ways.
He said: “It’s a tough one (bowling bouncers). I think it is inevitable that it is going to happen.”
“I’ve been bowling bouncers for a long time and I have hit guys before. It is part of the game but it gives you an extra bit of doubt that a small percentage of what happened is reality I guess.
“I am sure we will get back to the way we were playing last summer but it’s going to be tough because we base our game on aggression.’’