Harris looking to improve

The 31-year-old seamer took four wickets in less than an hour on Sunday's final morning in Perth to finish with six for 47, ending England's slim hopes of a win and levelling the series at 1-1 with two Tests to play.

“I wasn't very happy with the way I bowled, the feeling I had wasn't great, but the positive out of that is I've taken six wickets,” Harris told reporters in Perth on Monday.
“I'll take that away, I've got a few things to work on in Melbourne which I'll do, but pretty happy with the result.

“The best thing I can do is not think about it, go out and bowl and do what I do best, which is bash the wicket.

“They say fast bowlers aren't smart blokes but I probably shouldn't think as much as I do.”

Harris's performances since he was recalled for the second Test in Adelaide has all but ensured he will be in the starting lineup when the fourth match in Melbourne starts on Sunday, even if Australia decide to bring in a spinner.

He missed out on the first Test in Brisbane largely because of concerns about his recovery from knee surgery but the injured joint seemed to be withstanding the labours of Test cricket.

“The cartilage on the outside of my right knee is going basically, there's not much left,” Harris said. “I'm eating through it every time I pound into the crease. With that, there's probably a little bit of bone-on-bone at the moment, which was causing the swelling.

“But ... it's not playing up like it did when I came back ... everything's going great at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Ponting, who also has injury issues heading to Melbourne after fracturing the little finger on his left hand in Perth, dismissed any major concerns over the batting line-up.

“I guess if you look at the cold, hard facts that’s exactly right,” he said when asked if some of Australia’s key batsmen were struggling.

“But you also know in any game you play, and any win or loss that you have, that there’s always going to be three or four or five of your guys that don’t have any impact on a game.

“That’s just the way cricket’s always been. It’s about when an opportunity comes around for certain players to stand up and get the job done that they do it.”