Marcus Harris' advice for batting at MCG: 'Patience will be key'

The MCG pitch is expected to have a green cover, offering something for the bowers, but Harris, the opener, for whom this is a home ground when he plays for Victoria, said it could make for plenty of runs for anyone who dug in.

Remembering the Sheffield Shield game between Victoria and New South Wales in October, he said he had thought the game would be over in a day and a half because of how green the pitch looked, but went on to make 250, which helped him break into the Australian side.

"Pre-match when I saw the wicket I was really freaked out and I thought, 'This game's going to be over in a day and a half and we've got blokes trying to vie for Test spots,'" Harris told ESPNcricinfo about that match. "So I went into the game with no expectations on myself and the wicket actually played pretty well.

"It was relatively slow and stayed together. I saw this morning the wicket will probably be more similar to the South Australia game, where it had a bit more green grass on it, nipped around a bit but it was one of those wickets where if you play well you can make runs but if you bowl well you can take wickets."

The last Test at the MCG was a high-scoring Ashes draw. This time, patience would be key, pointed out Harris, who is on his debut series.

"I think it'll be the same old thing of patience, the MCG is never a really quick scoring ground anyway, so that'll be the key, just realising things will take a while to evolve.

"Fortunately we've probably got the best bowling attack in the world so that looks after itself a little bit, but I think as batters a patience game will be the key and run rates won't be as quick as what you'd like, but that's the way it will be."

If anyone knows the ground, it has to be Harris and his opening partner Finch, both of whom represent the same state side and opened the batting for the Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades. Harris said going out to open in his home ground with his friend Finch on Boxing Day would be "pretty special".

“The first time I opened the batting with Finchy would’ve been in Big Bash,” Harris told Fox Sports. “I can’t remember what game, but I distinctively remember how fast he runs between the wickets and how I can’t run as fast as him and how angry he would get that I couldn’t keep up with him.

“We’ve got a good relationship, we obviously play at the Renegades together and for Victoria so it’s been really good to come into the Test side and open the batting with someone you know well and get along with really well.”