David Warner has backed fellow left-handed opener Marcus Harris to succeed him after he retires from Test cricket.

Warner, who is in the midst of his final Test series, scored 38 runs on day one of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at the MCG. Following the end of day’s play, he singled Marcus Harris out to take over from him after the New Year’s Test in Sydney, which is all set to be Warner’s last.

“Look, it’s a tough one, it’s obviously up to the selectors but from my position… I feel like the person who has worked their backside off and has been there for a while in the background, I think (Harris) has been that person,” Warner said.

Harris, currently 31, has been in and around the Australian Test side for a while, having made his Test debut in 2018 against India in Adelaide. However, he has only managed to play 14 Test matches so far, averaging 25 with three fifties and no hundreds.

Harris’ last Test came nearly two years back in the New Year’s Ashes Test in Sydney in 2022 where he made 38 in the first innings and 27 in the second.

He hasn’t had a great start to the Sheffield Shield this season, scoring 282 runs at 31 from nine innings, however, he looked in fine form in the warm-up game that Pakistan played before the first Test of the series. In that game, playing for the Prime Minister’s XI, Harris scored 126 off 131 balls.

Warner said that if the selectors kept their faith in him, he would produce the results. “He’s always toured, he’s going to have that chance,” Warner said. “He scored a hundred the other day, he missed out in a couple of other games, but he’s always been that person who is next in line. If the selectors show their faith in him, then I’m sure he’ll come out and play in the way he does.”

The veteran opener also likened Harris to himself in terms of batting style and said that he would fit nicely into the team: “[Harris] is not too dissimilar to me, if he sees it in his areas, he goes for it and plays his shots. I think he’d fit well.”

Australia finished a rain-affected day one at 187-3 from 66 overs with Hasan Ali, Aamer Jamal, and Salman Agha sharing the wickets among them.

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