Harris laments docile pitches

Ryan Harris has joined his pace compatriot Mitchell Johnson in wondering aloud why Australia's Test match pitches this summer have been more docile than those the fast men enjoyed against England previous summer, noting that India have not had to cope with any equivalent to the "absolute shockers" prepared on the subcontinent in 2013.

Johnson was missing from Australian training on Saturday due to hamstring soreness, and may sit out the Test on what appears likely to be another pitch friendly to batsmen. In contrast to the SCG pitch of last summer, which was well-grassed and criticised by Australia coach Darren Lehmann for its exorbitant assistance to bowlers, this year's model already appears ready to play on, three days out from the toss.

It maintains a theme of beige batting wickets this series, with even the Gabba attracting some criticism from Johnson for being less lively than it had been for Alastair Cook's team. Harris said it had been "a lot harder" this season to get the sort of response from the wickets that allowed Australia's bowling attack to prosper so frequently against England.

"I don't think the wickets have been as fast and bouncy," Harris said. "Obviously we've got results in two of the Test matches. But again as a bowling group we're always going to say we want a bit more bounce and grass. That goes without saying. And that's what we had last year and that's where he (Johnson) excelled. Going on last year [Johnson] was able to do that because (of) obviously what Sidds and I were doing but also the pace in the wickets. But not having that there is probably a little bit frustrating.

"In saying that we've had two results and nearly got a result in Melbourne. It's hard to fully criticise the wickets but I must admit it's been a lot harder than it was last year. Test cricket's always going to be hard - I'm not saying we should get ridiculous bouncy wickets. But we go to India and get absolute shockers over there so it'd be nice to get some green tops over here."

There has also been something of a transition about the Australian bowling quartet this series. Josh Hazlewood's emergence has placed Peter Siddle in the shade, while Mitchell Starc is getting closer to becoming the left-arm talent the selectors need to be ready to fire whenever Johnson's career draws to a close. Siddle's value as a tireless purveyor of disciplined fast-medium has been felt in his absence, as measured by Johnson dropping his pace in the knowledge he cannot bowl flat-out short bursts anymore.

"I think our attack's great. We'd obviously like to have Sidds in there because we've had success but that's the selectors' choice," Harris said. "Josh Hazlewood's done a really good job. He's taken a five-for on debut. I actually thought towards the end of the game in Melbourne he was coming in and bowling good pace. I wish I had his height. I'd love to have a little bit more height. Because that ball at the end was soft, it was doing nothing but a couple of his balls were bouncing through.

"Josh, the little bit I've seen of him in Shield cricket, he's good at doing that [bowling long spells] anyway. I think the experience of Sidds, we may have missed that a little bit. But the way Josh has come in and bowled and played I think has been just as good. I had a chat to Steven Smith about that in Brisbane and he said that Joshy needs to bowl longer spells, that's how he gets into his spells and gives him a chance to get the feeling."

Sydney's Test was delayed by three days in order to give the bowlers on both sides a greater chance to recover from close to three back-to-back Tests from the beginning of the series in Adelaide. This change to the schedule was made to accommodate a grieving period following the death of Phillip Hughes, but it will also have the benefit of allowing Harris to be fit for the game, following on from his exertions in Melbourne.

"I was pretty sore after Melbourne - it's definitely helped," Harris said. "If it had been a three day turnaround it might have been tight again but to be able to have that extra couple of days is pretty good. Today's probably the best I've felt. Still two-and-a-half days out I'm confident I should be fine. Probably I'll have a good bowl tomorrow and then hopefully go out in the Test match."

Beyond this Test will be one possible Big Bash League appearance for Brisbane Heat, though it remains to be seen whether Harris will be part of Australia's World Cup plans. He is not counting on it. "I haven't thought about that either. I'm just trying to get through this Test series and making sure we win, well, we've won it, but getting the 3-0 result.

"I'll sit down with (physio) Alex (Kontouris) and the doctor [Peter Brukner] and the coach after this and work out what I need to do in regards to Big Bash, I think there's one Big Bash game I might be available for and I then how many Shield games, if not all, I'll play and we'll work it out from there. I've obviously got to keep playing some cricket with the West Indies coming up and then onto England hopefully."