It might be asking a bit too much for Harris to win his first cap on home soil next month – Cardiff’s Swalec Stadium hosts England’s first Test against Sri Lanka – but the all-rounder isn’t giving up on a Three Lions debut this year.
Some of Glamorgan’s biggest names, including Gilbert Parkhouse, Peter Walker, Jeff Jones and teammate Robert Croft have represented England at Test match level and Harris is desperate to make the step up.
He believes touring with the England Lions, formerly England A, this winter gave him the perfect grounding for a call-up to the first team.
While Harris has already written his name into the Glamorgan record books for his feats as a fresh-faced teenager, he is now ready to push for full international honours.
His immediate focus is on getting Glamorgan’s championship season off to a winning start as they attempt to put the frustration of last year and the turbulent events off the field during the winter behind them.
For Harris, the early part of the off-season was spent at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, ironing out the creases in his game before travelling to the Caribbean in January.
Alongside fellow pacemen Steven Finn, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett and Jade Dernbach, Harris contributed 14 wickets and 183 runs in the seven games he played. But it wasn’t just the experience on the pitch that Harris felt he benefited from.
“There are a lot of things to learn when you are on your own, being away for nine weeks in a foreign place with no friends and family,” he said.
“You spend a lot of time on your own and dealing with that sort of thing can get you through the long domestic summer when you’re away a lot.”
He continued: “I got a few runs in the West Indies, which was nice, but I’d have liked to take a few more wickets.
“We played on a lot of flat pitches that were hard to bowl on against some good players.
“I got the chance to talk to the Lions coaches and they’ve been very beneficial. The likes of Graham Thorpe has incredible amounts of experience under his belt. Having guys like that around can only help.
“I’m happy with the way I bowled all winter and I’m just looking to kick on. I played a few Lions games prior to the winter, but when you come back from a tour it’s a different feeling and to have had a fairly successful one is very satisfying.
“If I get the chance to play for England it would be fantastic, whether that’s now or in the future.
“As long as my name is in the window and I’m doing the right things, I’ll be happy.
“They are picking from within now. The Lions teams are being picked so that if the England boys do go down with an injury they are going to go with someone from the Lions squad.
“Being in that team and performing is the way to get in the England side and that’s definitely my goal.
“If I keep bowling well and get a few runs then, hopefully, I’ll get the call eventually.”
A repeat of last season’s 63-wicket haul in the championship wouldn’t harm his chances of getting that call, but he would like a big improvement on the 257 runs scored with the bat.
“I’m fitter and stronger than I’ve ever been and it’s always good to be in decent nick at the start of the summer,” he added.
“It would be nice to get another 60 wickets this year. I said 50 and 500 runs last year, but I got 60 and not enough runs.
“I feel I have led the bowling attack for the last few years and done a decent job.
“It’s a role I really enjoy and one I’d like to get better at. It’s something I’d like to do throughout my career.
“It’s a role I’ve had in junior cricket and been someone the captain will call on to bowl, take wickets and do a job.
“I’ve performed fairly well in the past under the sort of pressure which comes with leading the attack, so I’m always going to act as if it is solely my job.”
Harris has a good relationship with former Glamorgan seamer Steve Watkin, the county’s bowling coach.
Good ideas
SvarSlett