Marcus Harris excited for 'pretty special' homecoming

Harris, 26, who was born in Perth and plays for Victoria, remembers watching some classic matches at the WACA. Now, with the action moving to the new Perth Stadium, which will host its first Test starting Friday, 14 December, Harris isn’t averse to making some history of his own in the new venue.

“Pretty special to come home and play a Test,” he told presspersons on Tuesday, 12 December. “Would have been great to play at the WACA, but getting the opportunity to play at the new stadium will be pretty special, I know it’s the first Test there.

“I remember coming to Test matches here all the time,” Harris said of the WACA ground, remembering the loud crowds and how he had wished he could “be that bloke on the field”.

“I remember the first Test that I ever came to, I think within the first five minutes, Glenn McGrath had a hat-trick against West Indies, so there have always been great memories for me coming to Test matches in Perth.

“Hopefully I can create some memories for young kids coming to games at the new stadium.”

The new stadium is expected to offer pace and bounce. Harris believed that would suit the Australian attack, while also requiring the batsmen to make slight adjustments to their game.

“I think we took some good confidence from the fight we showed [in the first Test in Adelaide],” he said of the 31-run loss. “I know as a batter, I looked [at the margin] and thought, ‘I wish I could’ve got 60 or 70.’

“We got pretty close and the fight we showed, hopefully, we can take some momentum into the game on Friday. I think the pitch will suit us a little bit more with the conditions.

“That's taking nothing away from India, but I just think a little bit of momentum [went our way]. We would've loved to win the game, but the boys bowled really well, the bowlers also batted really well, so it's probably on us batters to take a bit of the weight from them.”