Harris ready for bowler-friendly Ashes

Marcus Harris will know what to expect on August 1 should he win a selection showdown and face the opening ball of the much-anticipated Ashes series.

Harris, who looms as the early favourite to partner David Warner in the opening Test at Birmingham, has played two seasons of grade cricket with Taunton and will soon open the batting during three four-day games in England.

But it is last week's intense Australia A camp in Brisbane, and its pitches designed to replicate English conditions, that proved an ideal eye-opener for the left-hander.

"It was pretty English up there. The wickets were doing plenty and the ball was swinging around a fair bit," Harris told reporters in Melbourne at the launch of Cricket Australia's technology partnership with HCL.

"Hopefully more than what they'll be doing in England.

"We had the English Dukes balls, which are different to the ones we use in Sheffield Shield. It was good preparation.

"By no means did I come out and smash them but everything felt like it was moving properly."

Harris, who has been leaning on the advice of Victoria mentor and former Leicestershire coach Andrew McDonald, will join the Australia A squad in a fortnight for the red-ball leg of their UK tour.

Harris, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns and Cameron Bancroft headline Warner's potential opening partners in the Ashes but the early expectation is it'll be the man who made his Test debut six months ago at Adelaide Oval.

"There's definitely still a bit of water to go under the bridge ... but I feel like I'm doing all the right things at the moment," Harris said.

Burns scored 180 during Australia's most recent Test but recently ended his county season because of post-infectious fatigue disorder.

"I hope he gets better ... it's probably quite a tough time for him at the moment but I'm sure he'll be right," Harris said.

Harris was worked over by Jackson Bird, Scott Boland and Chris Tremain during lively centre-wicket sessions at Allan Border Field.

The Test incumbent's most recent stint in England was in 2015 but he freely admits that grade games in Taunton weren't exactly dress rehearsals for day one at Edgbaston.

"The ground I played on might have been the best wicket in the world. I hope we play on a wicket like that, it might be 'fill your boots'," Harris said.

"I don't reckon there will be too many wickets like that.

"If I was them I wouldn't be rolling out flat wickets. They'll probably be doing a bit."

Ball is expected to dominate bat during the five-Test series, especially with England opting for the older version of Dukes that has a more prominent seam.

Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK 2019

Tour match: Australia v Australia A, Hampshire, July 23-26

First Test: August 1-5 at Edgbaston, Birmingham

Tour match: Australia v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18 at Lord's, London

Third Test: August 22-26 at Headingley, Leeds

Tour match: Australia v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester

Fifth Test: September 12-16 at The Oval, London