Australian Test hopeful Marcus Harris has flopped at the worst possible time as he desperately pushes his case to play a part in the upcoming Ashes series.
Harris returned scores of 1 (14 balls) and 0 (7 balls) while playing for Victoria in their Sheffield Shield clash with NSW at the MCG.
In the second innings on Sunday morning, Harris was trapped lbw by fellow Test aspirant Sean Abbott.
The 29-year-old left-hand opener is believed to be in a race with Usman Khawaja to win the vacant Test team spot at the top of the order, alongside David Warner.
Harris’ Victorian teammate Will Pucovski would almost certainly be filling the position if he was not sidelined indefinitely with ongoing concussion issues.
The injury to Pucovski leaves the role of Warner’s opening partner available, and Harris and Khawaja are the two main contenders gunning for the spot.
Khawaja recently scored centuries in consecutive Shield games to push his case for a Test recall.
Harris is the incumbent, having played against India at the Gabba in January.
He’s played 10 Tests for Australia since debuting in December 2018.
He may only have one more Shield game to convince selectors to pick him in the Test squad.
Victoria plays NSW at the SCG starting November 19. They also play two one-day games either side of that.