Australia paceman Harris a doubt for first Ashes test

LONDON, (Reuters) – Australia’s selectors may be spared the headache of choosing who to leave out of the team’s pace bowling unit for the first Ashes test against England after Ryan Harris was withdrawn from a warmup match due to knee soreness.

Ryan Harris
Ryan Harris

The 35-year-old Queenslander was ruled out of the ongoing Essex tour match and is now racing to be fit for the Ashes opener in Cardiff next week.

“We pulled him out because he’s sore, he’s going to get some scans done and we’ll have a better idea in a day or two,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann said.

A proven performer on English pitches, Harris was rested for the World Cup and missed the West Indies tour to stay home for the birth of his first child.

He took a couple of wickets in the first tour match against Kent but admitted his right knee, which he had major surgery on last year, had bothered him.