Australian opener Marcus Harris has been under a lot of pressure for not being able to make the most of his opportunities. Tons of runs in FC cricket Before the beginning of Ashes 2021-22, Marcus Harris averaged just 23.77 from 10 test matches. It was a bit fortunate on his part that he got the nod after Will Pwoski - Australia's preferred opener - was concussed after being hit in the head. Make no mistake, Harris is a prolific scorer at the Sheffield Shield level but hasn't been able to convert his potential to performances in international cricket. Perhaps, he has not got any easy assignments, having to face England in England and a very good Indian attack. Clear communication It was very professional of the Australian selector and former captain George Bailey to communicate to the opener that he will be starting the series, no matter what, before Ashes 2021-22. "I spoke to George Bailey and we had a really good conversation," Harris said. "It was just good to have some clear communication with a selector about what I was doing and what was in their thinking for me. It's good for your confidence as a player to know where you stand and having the backing of people is really good. It puts your mind at ease a little bit, your mind can run, obviously coming into a big series on the Ashes with the amount of attention that's brought to it, so to not have to worry about that for probably a month leading into the first game has been pretty good." Brilliant opening partner Haris also had good words to say about his opening partner David Warner, who is already a veteran and has been rock-solid for Australia at the top of the order. "Warner brings a lot of energy to the crease and to the partnership. Obviously for a long period of time, he's dominated world cricket. So he takes a lot of pressure off, you don't feel any pressure to score. I know we had a tough series over in England but in the second innings against India we put on 80 or 90. Anytime you can play with another player that takes a lot of pressure off you it makes your job a bit easier. Hopefully we can forge something pretty good - we'll get through this summer first - but over the next period of time."
