Born on October 11, 1979, Ryan Harris has had a career severely blighted by injuries. Built stockily, Harris is a bowling all-rounder who can strike a few lusty blows when required. One such hit was a six when South Australia Redbacks needed 5 runs off the last ball against the Queensland Bulls.

Harris made his ODI debut against South Africa in January 2009 but had to wait for an year to make his next appearance. He was a late call-up for the ODI series against Pakistan in January 2010, but he created an immediate impression snapping up 2 successive 5-wicket hauls. He has been a picture of consistency ever since then snapping 41 wickets in just 17 ODI appearances at a stunning average of 16.12.

A Test call-up was never in doubt after such fine ODI performances and Harris was rewarded with the baggy green during the tour to New Zealand in March 2010. He ended up with match figures of 6/119 in his debut Test and followed it up with 3 more wickets in the next Test. His best though was reserved against England. He picked up 9 wickets including a career best 6/47 in the second innings at Perth as Australia romped home in style. An injury though ended his participation in the final Test at Sydney and also ruled him out of the Cricket World Cup - 2011 in the Indian sub-continent.

Ryan started his career with South Australia before moving onto Queensland. His British passport helped him to secure a contract with Sussex which was shelved after it became apparent that he had secured a move to Queensland and it breached the Sussex contract.

Ryan Harris was a part of the Deccan Chargers squad that won the IPL in 2009. His proximity with his coach in South Australia, Darren Lehmann helped him in getting this contract without having to go through the auction process. In the subsequent auctions for the 2011 tournament, Ryan Harris was signed up by Kings XI Punjab.
Harris returned to the international scene during the tour of Sri Lanka in 2011 and returned with a rich haul of 11 wickets from just 2 matches, a superb achievement considering the lack of support for pacers in sub-continental tracks. It included 5/62 at Galle, helping Australia clinch a series winning victory.

Persistent injuries though continued to haunt Harris as he has featured in just 3 Test matches and a handful of ODIs since then. When on song, Harris is one difficult customer to deal with as evident in his stats. He made a return to state cricket in the 2012-13 season and played a pivotal role in Queensland’s victory in the Ryobi cup finals against Victoria. Defending 5 runs in the last over, Harris snared the last two wickets to ensure heartbreak for the hosts.

Harris was recalled for the 2013 Ashes in England. He was overlooked for the first test against England at Trent Bridge but returned to the side for the second at Lord's, picking up 5 wickets in the first innings to go on the Lord's honors boards. He was the highest wicket-taker for Australia with 24 wickets. He became the leader of the pack and Australia looked up to him to get the wickets when required.

Having had a good outing in England, Harris led the Australian attack for the 2013-14 Ashes series Down Under as well. In March 2014, Harris was ruled out for six months following a knee surgery.

Harris' last Test series turned out to be the one against India in which picked up 10 wickets. While he was trying hard to get fit for the 2015 Ashes series, Harris ended up announcing his retirement from all forms of the game when a knee injury ruled him out of the series against England, just three days before the start of the first Ashes Test.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy