Harris the 'right man' if SA coaching opportunity comes

Rising fast-bowling talent Jordan Buckingham has sung the praises of ex-Test quick-turned coaching mentor Ryan Harris and believes Harris would excel if selected for the vacant South Australia men's team coaching job.

Having worked closely with Harris in his role as SA assistant coach last summer, Buckingham cited technical and tactical changes the pair have worked on as crucial in the latter's ambition to become an all-formats player.

A self-confessed competitive beast who enjoys "getting in the grille" or rival batters, Buckingham also sees similarities in the manner Harris approached the game across 27 Tests and almost as many limited-overs internationals.

And for that reason the 24-year-old recruit from Victoria has taken to heart counsel received from Harris who has also helped the right-armer make some minor refinements to his bowling.

"A couple of action tweaks, a couple of mindset things," Buckingham said when asked about the major input from Harris since he joined the SA set-up last year.

"I think we were both pretty passionate on the field, so a big one was controlling my emotions a little bit because he was quite a similar bowler and quite a similar operator in a few ways.

"For me, it's just having little catch-ups with him every now and then and making sure we're staying on top of things on the field but also off the field."

Harris is currently serving as interim SA men's team head coach after Jason Gillespie parted ways with his former home state earlier this year and took up the job as Pakistan Test supremo.

With former New Zealand men's team high performance manager Simon Insley this week appointed as SA's general manager of cricket, a decision on who takes on Gillespie's former roles with the state outfit and Adelaide Strikers in the KFC BBL is expected soon.

After chronic knee injuries forced him into retirement as a player in 2015, Harris began his coaching journey with Australia's male under-19 team before stints as Test bowling coach and Queensland pathways manager before returning to his former hometown, Adelaide.

And while SA was unable to secure any long-sought silverware during Gillespie's four summers at the helm, they have developed an impressive battery of pace bowlers that includes Buckingham, Brendan Doggett, Wes Agar, Spencer Johnson and Nathan McAndrew.

"I think he could be the right man for the job, if it did fall that way," Buckingham said in backing Harris's credentials for the head coach's role.

"Obviously I don't get a say in that one, but his knowledge is second to none and the things he says go a long way.

"He's fresh out of the game, he's a very passionate and motivated man.

"So if the job did fall his way I have absolutely no doubt he'd grab the opportunity with both hands and go really well, and lead the state of South Australia to success."

It's Buckingham's allegiance to his adopted state that led him to sign on with Adelaide Strikers for BBL|14 after a stint at the club in 2022-23 and then last season's champion outfit Brisbane Heat, neither of which saw him earn a maiden T20 appearance.

However, his white-ball bowling skills were evident in the three Marsh One Day Cup games he played for SA late last summer from which he snared nine wickets including the best innings figures in the competition (6-41 against Queensland).

The prospect of signing with the Strikers while unaware of who will be in charge next season was mitigated by the fact the Heat – who have since appointed ex-South Africa captain Johan Botha to the BBL and state team job – were also without a coach when negotiations were conducted.

"Last year I went away and got a bit of a different experience at the Brisbane Heat and ended up going pretty well team-wise," Buckingham said.

"But it's always been a dream of mine since coming over to South Australia to become a full time South Australian cricketer, and joining up with the Strikers is allowing that to happen.

"I see Adelaide Oval as a beautiful place to bowl and certainly think at the Strikers there might be some room there at some point, whether it's at the start of the tournament or during the tournament, to squeeze in and hopefully hold my own.

"I feel like in the last one or two seasons I've come a long way in white-ball cricket.

"I played the three one-dayers and went OK for SA this year but I'd like to think that up top I can swing the new ball and hopefully generate some early wickets for the team.

"And then towards the back end I feel like I can back my death bowling in now, I've been doing it in the nets for the last one or two Big Bash seasons trying to get into a team."

Buckingham admits his burning career ambition remains in the red-ball arena, to earn a Baggy Green Cap in Australia's Test team.

But even though he has yet to make a senior appearance in the T20 game, he is also keen to show he has the wares for white-ball cricket and concedes he's keen to disprove suggestions his skillset is suited solely to long-form cricket.

"Obviously I started in the red-ball team (in 2022) and didn't quite break into the white-ball team until the back end of last season," he said.

"At some points there was probably a small fear that I thought I may have been pigeon-holed and I was going to be a red-ball bowler for life.

"But opportunities open up and things happen quite quickly, so to get out there and impress with a white-ball and to hopefully do it in front of big (BBL) crowds at Adelaide Oval would definitely be top of the bucket list for me.

"In this day and age you want to keep your options open.

"I'm loving my red-ball cricket at the moment and I'd love to play Test cricket for Australia one day, without a doubt that's always been a dream of mine.

"But if that happens, and then I can also juggle white-ball commitments on the side and potentially play a bit of franchise cricket down the track and perhaps make a living out of that, that would be really nice."

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