The Ashes: Australia’s Ryan Harris in the ‘ball of the century’ for Alastair Cook and Mitchell Johnson’s partnership

History had some great supporting characters.

Not the friend. That would be disrespectful. Number two – those who make the stars shine a little brighter.

Brian Clough had Peter Taylor. Elton John had Bernie Taupin. Elsa had Anna.

Mitchell Johnson, the mustachioed menace who destroyed England at the speed of light, had Ryan Harris.

The ashes of the 2013-14 season, when England were humiliated 5-0, will forever belong to Johnson. The left-armer was pure fireworks, hitting the stumps, pads and helmets, for 37 wickets. On the other hand, Harris’ new ball partner was his nickname ‘The Rhino’ – rampaging and relentless.

It was Johnson who emerged as an Ashes legend, but it was Harris who produced ESPN Cricinfo’s ‘Ball of the Century’., externala physics-defying player out to beat England captain Alastair Cook. Kevin Pietersen described Harris as the best Australian seamer he had ever faced, going up against KB Johnson, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.

There were plenty of reasons Harris might not be wearing a green baggy hat.

His father was born in Leicester, meaning Harris could have played for England. An attempt to spend time with Sussex as a home-grown player was thwarted in 2008. Before that, the younger Harris who liked to “drink a beer” was let go by South Australia, only to reclaim his government contract as a senior reserve when another player rejected his contract.

With a second chance, Harris realized he could add some speed to his bowling, and a move to Queensland helped him realize his potential. However, a troublesome right knee, a hangover from the schoolboy injuries he suffered playing and playing under Australian Rules, would plague him and ultimately end his career.

He did not make his Test debut until the age of 31 – before an Australia side in transition were beaten 3-1 at home in 2010-11 by Andrew Strauss’s side. This remains the last time England won Underground.

“They were relentless,” Harris told BBC Sport. “I just remember going into the locker rooms during breaks and thinking what do we have to do to get these guys out.”

Just as his team struggled, so did Harris, who broke his ankle in the fourth Test. Nothing could compare to the misery of Johnson, whose game collapsed to a soundtrack of jeers from the Barmy army. It bends to the left, and turns to the right. You know the rest.

“For the first time in his career, he was challenged and the ball wasn’t coming out anywhere near what we wanted,” Harris says. “Mentally, he started second-guessing himself again.

“This happens when there’s a lot of pressure. He was there to intimidate and rush in, but he couldn’t do it.”

Harris’s next clash with the English, in 2013, presented a similar problem for Australia.

The accumulation of chaos, including a controversy over homework and David Warner punching Joe Root in a Birmingham pub, led to Mickey Arthur being replaced as head coach by Darren Lehmann.

“Buff had a huge meeting about how we were all going to be together,” says Harris. “We had team values ​​set by Mickey – starting with ‘I’ll do this, I’ll do that’. Bove flipped that. He changed ‘I’ to ‘We’. It was all about being together.”

Australia found themselves 2-0 down, but would go on to win all three of the final Tests before eventually losing the series 3-0. There was a comeback series in Australia immediately, and Harris felt the shift in momentum.

“If you looked at it on paper, it was one of the worst outcomes, but we thought it was much closer than that,” he says.

“When we got back on the plane, we left very hungry, and knowing the flight was going straight back, we saw it as a great opportunity.”