As morale-boosting centuries go, Marcus Harris' effort for Western Australia against South Australia could hardly have been better timed.
Between their three consecutive Sheffield Shield defeats, well-documented off-field disciplinary problems and the resignation of both skipper Marcus North and coach Lachlan Stevens, positives had been hard to find for the beleaguered Warriors before the 20-year-old took centre stage at the WACA on Monday.
There was undeniably an element of luck in the opener's knock of 114 which saw him dropped by keeper Tim Ludeman on 51 having sent several edges flying through the slip cordon earlier in the day.
But there was also much to like about the way he rocked forward to punish anything over-pitched, with the long-on boundary his preferred target of choice.
And he was understandably delighted to have at least partially lifted the gloom that has enveloped his home state in recent weeks.
"I'm pretty happy," he said.
"I've had a frustrating start to the season because I've been hitting the ball quite well but haven't been able to get past the 35 mark, so it's good to get a big one under my belt today and hopefully set up the game for a good result for WA."
Not since becoming the youngest player in Sheffield Shield history to pass the 150 mark back in March 2011 had Harris reached three figures and he admitted to finding his patchy form in the wake of that landmark innings a source of frustration.
"It was good to have all the hype around at that time," he said. "But it was a difficult year for me last year because I couldn't quite consolidate my spot, so it's good to make another hundred now.
"I'm still only 20 and I've been starting really well so it's a case of working on going on from 20 to 30. Mentally I've just got to keep working on that."
Having been reduced to a perilous 3-60 shortly before lunch, WA were hugely grateful to Harris for hauling them back into the contest and despite his dismissal in the final session of the day, the centurion feels his side remains on course to post a match-winning total.
"I had a good partnership with (Adam) Voges which kind of consolidated us and got us going again," he said. "And I think we ended up putting on 120 or so.
"The wicket is definitely better for batting than it has been at the WACA and once I got to 50, I felt really in and comfortable.
"You can play your shots out there, so hopefully we can keep going now.
"I reckon 300 to 350 would be a good first-innings score out there and with our bowling attack, we can take wickets quickly."
The prospect of Justin Langer taking over as WA coach in the very near future, meanwhile, is clearly something that Harris would welcome.
"I actually played my first game of A-Grade with him because we're from the same club side," he said.
"So I've had a bit to do with him and obviously I'm hopefully going to have more to do with him soon which should be good.
"He's someone with a lot of passion for WA cricket and that's what we need at the moment.
"He's someone that everyone looks up to and respects and it'll be great if he comes in to do the job."
And having grown up watching his fellow left-handed opener achieve legendary status at both state and international level, Harris has picked up at least one trademark shot.
"I've got the glide down through gully working," he said.
First Posted 13 November, 2012 8:59AM AEST
