Harris to make first-class return from injury

Ryan Harris admits there have been plenty of times during his latest rehab from knee surgery that he wondered whether or not all these lonely gym visits were worth it. More than once he contemplated retirement.

Sick of the sight of the National Cricket Centre Gym, Harris will make his comeback to first-class cricket in the Sheffield Shield on Sunday and is hoping to prove his readiness for a return to the Australia side for the opening Test against India at the Gabba in three weeks. Harris has been named in the Queensland team for their home Shield game against New South Wales.

It will be his first outing at first-class level since he bowled Australia to a series win over South Africa on the final day in Cape Town in March. His workload over the summer left Harris in desperate need of knee surgery and his recovery from that operation put him out of action for more than six months. Thoughts of giving up were warded off dreams of England next year.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't - it's always crossed my mind at 35," Harris said in Brisbane. "But the bottom line is I still want to play, I still think I've got something to give and I finished the last series in Africa, the first two Tests I didn't bowl too well and was getting a bit worried if I could get back to my best and I did in Cape Town. So I've still got unfinished business, especially with those Ashes there as well. I still want to make sure I can try to get there.

"The negative thoughts were knocked out pretty quickly by the positive thought and saying if I was to give up now I'd still have unfinished business and I don't want that. I've definitely had negative thoughts, I'm sick of going to the NCC gym and doing the stuff I had to do, but I had to do it to get where I am now.

"I'd love to make England. It's a long way off again, but I think the ultimate would be to get through all the cricket this summer and then get to England and have a chance to defend the Ashes, that'd be great. Then I'll see where I'm at from there. It's been tough getting back, probably the hardest rehab I've had to go through mentally and even physically, questioning whether I can do it and all that sort of stuff. But once I get to this stage now where I'm close to playing and back playing cricket amongst the boys, that's when I still really want to do it."

Harris would likely be a certain starter for the India series if he can prove his fitness and form for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield over the next fortnight. Ranked the No.2 Test bowler in the world behind Dale Steyn, Harris would be a key addition for the Australians on the familiar home pitches after their bowling attack struggled on the slower surfaces against Pakistan in the UAE.

"I wasn't happy the way I bowled last week, that's natural, I always have those sorts of dummy spits when I come back from injury," Harris said after match figures of 3 for 94 from 27 overs in a Futures League match. "The more I bowl the better I get so its just going to take time, and hopefully I can get back to decent form during the Shield game, and if I get picked to play the first Test I do, and if I don't I'll keep playing for Queensland and hopefully bowling well.

"There's two games before the Test, I might have to use both of them, but who knows. I think I can do it, I've done it before, the thing for me is I've had five and a half months out, I try to get back to the way I was bowling when I last bowled in two bowls and it's just not possible. So every time I bowl its felt better. Every time I do bowl I feel like I'm improving. Hopefully I don't bowl 50 overs in the game because it means Queensland are in a bit of trouble as well, but the more I bowl in game conditions I know I'll get better."

Most of all Harris, simply needs to get used to the feeling of bowling with pain in his battered right knee. It is better than it was in Cape Town, but will always give him some level of grief. "It just gets sore. All I need now is getting back to the mental toughness of knowing my knee's going to be sore and getting through it," he said. "Bottom line my knee in South Africa towards the end of that series was cooked.

"It's a lot better now, so I've just got to get back to that pain and getting my mind around it. Also getting the load that has to go through it, standing on my feet for so long, it hasn't had that for a long time, so it's going to take a couple more games before it gets right."