Cricket: Winning feeling a game away for Harris

By Richard Boock

NAPIER - Chris Harris, one of the few New Zealand cricketers not in need of a visit to Dr Enoka's leather couch this week, is nevertheless wary of the mental hurdle facing his team at McLean Park tomorrow night.

The Kiwis square off against South Africa in the fourth Bank of New Zealand one-day international with a 2-1 series lead, but after suffering a fearful battering in the tests, including an eight-wicket loss in Wellington on Monday.

The problem facing Harris is that he is virtually the only player in the side not desperate to forget what happened in the five-day stuff, after making his most significant contribution to the test team in six years.

Not only he did he top the test batting averages with 177 runs at 59.00, but he also churned through 95 overs (economy rate 2.5) at the bowling crease, leaving him in an upbeat mood leading into the last three ODIs.

"I do feel in good touch and it's nice to have contributed during the tests," he said, after arriving with the team in Napier yesterday evening.

"It's fair to say we struggled a bit, but we've got a better record in the one-dayers and we take heart from that."

Harris believes the trick for New Zealand will be to quickly turn their minds from the recent disappointments to the one-day successes, to adopt the mindset of team who are leading the series, rather than one who have just been crushed in the tests.

And that's probably an attitude that would gain approval from the team's sports psychologist, Gilbert Enoka.

"It's important that we focus on the first part of the one-day series, and particularly that win in the third ODI at Auckland, so that we carry a positive attitude into the rest of the series," Harris said.

"It's a mental thing for us now. It's 95 per cent up here," he said, tapping his forehead.

"Most of our guys can take something out of the test series, and it's now a matter of picking ourselves up and concentrating on what we do well."

The 29-year-old Canterbury all-rounder was initially picked as a batsman who might bowl the occasional over in the test series against South Africa, but ended up seeing a more lot more of the action than anticipated.

"I probably ended up bowling more than I have when I've been picked as a bowler," he quipped.

"But it's been good for me. The more bowling the better, really. It's left me in good shape for the one-dayers."

And while Harris will go into tomorrow's day-nighter with 95 test overs under his belt, one-day specialist Gavin Larsen will be operating on much leaner pickings.

The Wellington medium-pacer played in the first half of the series, but since then has only bowled four overs in the Shell Trophy, and a 10-over spell in local club cricket last weekend.

"I would imagine tomorrow's practice will be a pretty important one," Larsen said.

"But I feel about right. The 10 overs last weekend were a good blow-out and I'll top myself up in the nets tomorrow."