Lofty ambitions for Vics' new opener

Marcus Harris is preaching patience as he aims to build on a debut hundred for Victoria and develop into a reliable runs-scorer.

The 24-year-old opening batsman shifted to the Bushrangers over the off-season after six years in Western Australia.

His time at the Warriors yielded 2,138 Sheffield Shield runs at 28.89 from 42 matches, with WA coach Justin Langer labelling the return as "mediocre" after Harris departed.

However, Harris has taken inspiration from former teammates Mike Hussey and Adam Voges, who were made to wait for their Test debuts, and the left-hander hopes he can turn potential into performance and don the Baggy Green.

"I've been playing Shield cricket since I was 18," Harris told cricket.com.au. "I think sometimes you can get a little bit impatient and want to get to the next level straight away and hope it happens quickly. Sometimes it's not that way.

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"Once they (Hussey and Voges) got there, they worked it out pretty quickly.

"The way I look at it is I've got plenty of experience now in first-class cricket, so that should hold me in good stead for whatever happens down the road."

Harris was marked as a prodigious talent when he slammed a record-breaking 157 as an 18-year-old, becoming the youngest Australian to score a first-class 150.

His other career highlights have included a knocks of 81 and 158 not out in the 2014-15 Shield final, earning him the man-of-the-match award.

And he started the 2016-17 season in fine form for his new state, hitting 115 and 77 in the Bushrangers' emphatic victory over Tasmania.

Harris, who has put pen to paper with Victoria for three years, has five first-class centuries and seven 50s to his name and believes simplicity is the key to his success.

"In the past I've sort of over-analysed a lot of stuff, If I made a mistake, I'd look into it a bit too much." he explained.

"(Victoria coach) Andrew McDonald has got this thing where he says 95-5. If you look at the 95 per cent of things you did well rather than the five per cent you did bad, that will probably hold you in good stead.

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"I guess I've tried to bring that into my game a little bit and that's definitely helped so far.

"I used to whack a couple of fours early and get so pumped up that I wanted to hit everything for four.

"I think it's just a matter of just realising and catching yourself when you know you're starting to feel a bit like that and try to calm yourself down a bit.

"That's something I've worked on, just with sports psyches and stuff like that. The last year-and-a-half, I think I've started to get a lot better at it."

Harris made four appearances during this year's Matador Cup, logging 151 runs at 37.75, before being dropped after Aaron Finch returned from Australia's ODI series in South Africa.

But he said the extra preparation time had served him well ahead of the Shield campaign.

"To be honest, my highest score at the MCG before that (first-innings century) was probably 30 or 40," he said. "It was good to spend some time in the middle and obviously it was a quick turnaround from one-day cricket.

"Sometimes it's a bit harder to adjust but unfortunately, or fortunately – whichever way you want to look at it – I wasn't in the last few one-day games, so I had a bit of time to get my head around being prepared for that first Shield game."

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Harris, who is living in Elwood in the south of Melbourne, poured cold water on any suggestion of a feud with Langer.

"I've definitely had my ups and downs and sometimes just struggled to find a happy medium with the amount of pressure I put on myself and how much I listen to other people," he said.

"I've got a really good relationship with 'JL', so I think some of that stuff that was in the paper, some people may see it as we didn't get along.

"But I get along with him really well and I still speak to him now.

"That's his point of view, but that's all right. Everyone has an opinion and that's fine."

Victoria boasts a glut of young players pushing for higher honours, including Harris, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb and Travis Dean.

Harris and Stoinis previously played grade cricket together in WA and the former said he had enjoyed mixing with the up-and-coming stars.

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"We're all in the same boat trying to stake our claim for higher honours but still trying to win games for Victoria. That's obviously our main goal at the moment," Harris said.

"It's good having other younger guys around."

Born and bred in WA, Harris cited a change of scenery as the catalyst for his move.

He said he felt fortunate Victoria was willing to sign him, but the acquisition will also be vital toward their hopes of completing a Shield three-peat.

And with 343 runs from six innings for the Bushrangers across first-class and List A cricket, Harris has already shown he is a force at the top of the order.

"(The move) wasn't even so much (about) cricket, I just thought about getting out of Perth and trying something different for a little while and see how that goes for me. So far it's been good," Harris said.

"Initially you put a put a little bit on yourself, even in training and stuff like that, just proving yourself to the boys.

"I know my first Matador Cup game I was really nervous, but since then I've been really comfortable and the boys have been really good and really welcoming.

"That sort of takes the pressure off a little bit."

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