Ryan Harris has spent the bulk of pre-season reminding his South Australia squad that last March’s euphoria is yesterday’s news. Yes, the state snapped a 13-year wait for a domestic one-day crown and an even longer 29-year drought in the Sheffield Shield – and, yes, they managed the rare feat of landing both trophies within a fortnight – but the head coach’s message has been blunt:
“We spoke about what lies ahead of us,” Harris said. “We want to make sure that we don’t get comfortable in what we’ve done because, although we’ve had a great achievement last year, we haven’t achieved much at all yet.”
That line has become something of a mantra at Karen Rolton Oval, where the Redbacks have just wrapped up their final training block before the new campaign. The One-Day Cup defence begins on 20 September against New South Wales; the Shield starts on 4 October at the Adelaide Oval against Victoria.
Still hunting, not hunted
Harris refuses to let the players view themselves as the prey. “We have mentioned that we don’t want to be the hunted. Obviously, when you win, people want to beat you, no doubt. Our terminology is we are still hunting,” he said. “We’ve had one year of great achievements, [but] we haven’t really achieved anything yet. If we sit here in three or four years’ time and we’ve won a few more, then we’ve been a pretty good team.”
That sort of perspective matters for a side who had spent years propping up the Shield table. Even so, the group have embraced the memory of that late-summer surge. Harris is the first to acknowledge the feel-good factor. “[The players] like the feeling of winning. Obviously, we haven’t had a lot of it for a while. The boys really enjoyed it,” he said. “They knew it was hard work. We had a little bit of luck go away last year, but we hadn’t always had a lot of luck go away in the past. You need a little bit of luck to win. They’ve trained as if they’re preparing to win again.”
An unforgettable afternoon
The coach can still picture the moment thousands of supporters jumped the fence at Karen Rolton Oval on 29 March after Jason Sangha pierced the covers for the winning runs. South Australia had tried to stage the final at the much bigger Adelaide Oval, only for scheduling clashes with the AFL to scupper the plan. In hindsight the smaller ground, drenched in sunshine, provided cracker-jack theatre.
“I remember ushering the boys to the corner of the first level of Karen Rolton,” Harris recalled. “And when they came around the corner and saw the field and how many people were out there, I think it took them a little bit by surprise.”
What followed was the stuff of highlight reels. Sangha’s fluent century, Alex Carey’s calm rebuild after the top order slipped to 28 for 3, and that final surge towards a target of 270 created a scene Adelaide cricket people still revisit. “They always knew how important this was to win but, obviously with a few guys that are out-of-towners, that are not necessarily born in South Australia, I think it was that moment that they actually realised how big it was,” Harris said. “They knew it was big, but they didn’t realise it was that big.”
Using history, avoiding complacency
Sangha has told team-mates the city still stops him in cafés to relive those sixes over mid-wicket. Harris encourages that sort of nostalgia, within limits. “I’ve got no problem drawing on the feeling that they had, the success, and obviously the confidence that they have in their own games,” the coach said. “If they need to think back to a game or tw…”
The sentence trails off, almost deliberately, as if Harris wants the players to finish it themselves. The campaign ahead will provide the answer.
