Cricket: Slow English pitches expected to suit Harris

By RICHARD BOOCK

Chris Harris is looming as a possible benefactor of the pedestrian slow pitches expected for the Champions Trophy tournament in England.

The veteran jack-of-all-trades is pushing for a place in New Zealand's strongest line-up after some early indications that the late-season English pitches will suit his gravity-defying slow mediums.

New Zealand, who won both their warm-up games at Taunton before moving to London yesterday, will complete their preparations tomorrow with a game against Sri Lanka, and will play their opening pool game on Friday against the United States.

However, the biggest hurdle for the 2000 tournament winners will come the following Thursday, when they square off against world champions Australia in what is a virtual quarter-final.

Allrounder Chris Cairns, who was rested along with Daryl Tuffey and Brendon McCullum during their five-wicket win over a combined Somerset-Gloucester side on Saturday, reckons Harris might yet prove a key figure.

"There's a feeling that the pitches might be getting a bit tired by this stage of the season, and certainly that's been borne out in our first two practice games in Somerset," Cairns said yesterday.

"If that's the way it's going to be throughout the tournament, then you would think someone like Harry might come into their own.

"He's excellent in those sort of conditions and the Australians seem to have a particular problem with him."

Harris, who has played 243 one-day internationals, seemed to be at the end of the line last summer, when he was left out of the side for most of the home series against Pakistan and South Africa.

However, he clung on to a lifeline during the early stages of the NatWest Trophy tournament in July, and then capped his return with a memorable performance in the final at Lord's, taking his 200th ODI wicket as New Zealand won by 107 runs.

The initial expectation was that he would act as cover at the Champions Trophy while Kyle Mills and either Daryl Tuffey or Ian Butler boosted the pace bowling stocks, but Cairns believes the slow English surfaces may yet cause a rethink.

"The wickets seem a bit sluggish, which is understandable. They're slowing up as the day wears on, and the ball just seems to be holding up a fraction.

"Sometimes, when it gets like that, it's important to have bowlers like Daniel Vettori, Harry and Scott Styris - who can all take pace off the ball and make life difficult for attacking batsmen.

Cairns, who smashed a century in the first warm-up game at Taunton and bowled six overs later in the day, said his injured left ankle seemed to be "holding up" under the pressure, but would never be 100 per cent again.

"Two of the three ligaments that support the outside of the ankle have ruptured, so there's quite a lot of instability, and there's also potential flow-on problems for things like my calf muscles.

"What it means is that I've got to vary my pace even more these days - I effectively have to bowl slower.

"Whenever I bowl the effort-ball now, there's an awful amount of extra pressure placed on the ankle, and that's getting harder and harder to sustain."