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Harris a marvel as Australia win series decider

5th March, 2014
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Australia’s greatest achievement under captain Michael Clarke was a case of passion trumping pain.

With five overs left in a Test series decider that South Africa had long given up hope of winning, the tourists needed two wickets in Cape Town.

The ball was thrown to Ryan Harris, a 34-year-old in desperate need of knee surgery whose resilience has long been the stuff of legend.

Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander had frustrated Australia for 77 long minutes – and it had showed, especially when Michael Clarke exchanged heated words with Steyn after Philander had successfully reviewed his dismissal in the 124th over.

Harris, nursing a hip flexor injury sustained on day three that he feared would prevent him from bowling at all in the second innings, lumbered in for his 25th over.

In the space of three balls, Steyn and Morne Morkel’s stumps had been disturbed; Australia had posted a 245-run victory and the Proteas had suffered their first Test series loss in five years.

“I thought I was done,” Harris said on Wednesday.

“But when he turned to me and said ‘can you give me three’ I wasn’t going to say no. All the pain I went through last night and the night before is all worth it now.”

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Physio Alex Kountouris and doctor Peter Brukner, the same two that helped patch Clarke together after day one so he could complete a sterling century after being worked over by Morkel, worked tirelessly on Harris.

They numbed the pain, massaged the muscle and Harris was able to claim figures of 4-32 including the scalp of AB de Villiers.

“Doc was dry needling me,” Harris said.

“I had 30-odd millilitres (of fluid) drained out of my knee yesterday as well, which wasn’t great.”

David Warner was named man of the match and series for his two centuries in the clash.

Harris has made a habit of playing with pain in a late-blooming career, and Clarke was full of praise for his ability to “run through a brick wall for me and for this team”.

But on a final day when de Villiers and Faf du Plessis threatened to complete a great escape more impressive than they managed in Adelaide 16 months ago, this was something else.

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“There was a spell where I think at times I was really struggling to get to the wicket,” he said.

“I was working on different ways to run. I haven’t really run with a proper running action because the knee won’t let me fully extend my leg.”

“It was ridiculously sore.”

Nightwatchman Kyle Abbott added 94 minutes to his overnight vigil before departing in the first session of day five, but it was all Australia could muster before lunch.

The second session was crucial, de Villiers falling in the fifth over after lunch and du Plessis departing in the fourth over before tea.

JP Duminy advanced his side’s cause until 4.29pm before Harris finally tore down the stonewall 79 minutes later.

“I was just trying to bowl as fast as I could. I didn’t even know I’d bowled Steyn until the boys celebrated,” Harris said.

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