Harris opts for rest over red ball cricket

After an Australian batsman's most prolific first-class summer in 43 years, Marcus Harris declared Victoria's JLT Sheffield Shield triumph as the "cherry on top".

But the England-bound Test opener knows he's no guarantee of an Ashes opening berth, and conceded he was in need of a break after a draining season that saw him capped in Baggy Green and claim Australian domestic cricket's triple-crown with wins in the JLT One-Day Cup, KFC BBL and Shield.

Harris hit 1,188 runs for Victoria in the Shield summer to top all scorers and added another 327 in six Tests against India and Sri Lanka for a first-class tally of 1,515 runs at 56.11 with a top score of 250 not out against NSW at the MCG in October.

It's the most first-class runs an Australian has hit in a single summer since Greg Chappell hit 1,547 in the 1975-76 (including 800 in the Shield, and 702 in six Tests against the West Indies – the remainder was in a warm-up match against the touring side).

"I reckon I need a break," an honest Harris admitted after the match.

"Coming out of the Test series into the Big Bash I was really knackered. But I knew if I could put everything into this last month of cricket then give myself a little break and be fresh for the winter, that would be the best thing for me."

It paid off, with Harris hitting 141 in the first innings of the Shield Final to be the only batsman to master the conditions and put Victoria on track for a fourth Shield title in five summers.

The 26-year-old said he had briefly flirted with the idea of trying to secure a county contract and heading immediately to England to play red-ball cricket but is now glad he opted for the time off.

"When I struggled in the Big Bash I thought, 'Bloody hell should I go and play county cricket' but finishing the season well gives me good confidence going into the winter."

Harris will still be jumping on a plane this week, but instead of England he's heading to Bali for his best mate's buck's party and wedding and will take the majority of April off from cricket before turning attention to the looming Australia A tour.

After the summer he's had, Harris might be forgiven for thinking he's in pole position for an opening berth in the Ashes Test series. But he's not got this far by resting on his laurels and is taking the same approach of meticulous preparation in his bid to retain his Test spot with David Warner's ball-tampering suspension now lifted.

"I'm still very aware that Australia A series is going to be pretty big," Harris said.

"I'm going to be putting all my focus into that."

And after a summer that revealed the full "emotional rollercoaster" that Test cricket be, Harris says he's better prepared to deal with the mental demands an Ashes tour and the British tabloid press will bring.

"It was not physically, but mentally tired (going into the Sri Lanka Tests). That comes back to the emotional rollercoaster of Test cricket and it being my first series," Harris said.

"Having so many things happening can wear you out. But having played six Tests I'll be better for the run and be able to manage my time better.

"It was the amount of attention, people wanting a piece of you, and now having been a part of it before ... I know the series coming up is a pretty big series but the Indian series was massive, so I think I'll be fine going forward."