Harris considered quitting after surgery

Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris has admitted that he nearly gave up the game after his knee surgery earlier this year, saying he had to dig deep to find the motivation to come back at the age of 35.
Harris last played for the Aussies in March, against South Africa, after which he went for an operation on his knee. He'd played through the pain for months, and used the opportunity to get the long-standing problem fixed.
But the constant rehabilitation and visits to the gym wore him down and he wondered whether it was worth it, given all the young bowlers competing with him for places. But then he thought about the Ashes next year, and had a boost of energy.
Harris said of thinking about quitting: "I'd be lying if I said I didn't – it's always crossed my mind at 35. But the bottom line is I still want to play.
"I still think I've got something to give and I finished the last series in Africa, the first two Tests I didn't bowl too well and was getting a bit worried if I could get back to my best and I did in Cape Town.
"So I've still got unfinished business, especially with those Ashes there as well. I still want to make sure I can try to get there.
"The negative thoughts were knocked out pretty quickly by the positive thought and saying if I was to give up now I'd still have unfinished business and I don't want that.
"I've definitely had negative thoughts, I'm sick of going to the NCC gym and doing the stuff I had to do, but I had to do it to get where I am now.
"I'd love to make England. It's a long way off again, but I think the ultimate would be to get through all the cricket this summer and then get to England and have a chance to defend the Ashes, that'd be great.
"Then I'll see where I'm at from there. It's been tough getting back, probably the hardest rehab I've had to go through mentally and even physically, questioning whether I can do it and all that sort of stuff.
"But once I get to this stage now where I'm close to playing and back playing cricket amongst the boys, that's when I still really want to do it."
Harris admits that his knee is hardly pain free, and that he'll need to use his mental strength to deal with that if he wants to keep going: "It just gets sore.
"All I need now is getting back to the mental toughness of knowing my knee's going to be sore and getting through it. Bottom line, my knee in South Africa towards the end of that series was cooked.
"It's a lot better now, so I've just got to get back to that pain and getting my mind around it. Also getting the load that has to go through it, standing on my feet for so long, it hasn't had that for a long time, so it's going to take a couple more games before it gets right."
Latest
-
News
Women’s game on upward trend and schools an important target – Anya Shrubsole
The 30-year-old pace bowler was restricted to competing against boys during childhood.
-
News
Australia captain Meg Lanning taking break from cricket for personal reasons
The 30-year-old had been due to represent Trent Rockets in The Hundred.
-
News
Tributes pour in for former umpire Rudi Koertzen following death aged 73
The MCC said it was “saddened” to learn of Koertzen’s death.
-
England
Lisa Keightley to step down as England head coach at the end of the summer
The Australian took over in January 2020 and led England to the final of this year’s World Cup.
-
News
Chance to Shine graduates Lauren Bell and Issy Wong excited to keep on inspiring
The pair have enjoyed a memorable year so far with international debuts in multiple formats.
-
The Hundred
Jordan Thompson stars with the ball as London Spirit hammer Manchester Originals
Seamer Thompson, who took two wickets on his tournament debut at the Oval last week, followed that up with a remarkable four for 21 from 20 balls.
-
News
Sam Billings aiming to use England Lions game to push for Test recall
The wicketkeeper will captain the side for the tour match against South Africa.
-
News
Moeen Ali fears 50-over cricket could be lost due to ‘unsustainable’ schedule
The World Cup winner is worried people are starting to view the 50-over format as ‘the long, boring one’.
-
The Hundred
Alex Hales leads Trent Rockets to opening Hundred win
The former England opener hit 58 off 41 balls against Birmingham Phoenix.