Marcus Harris could move to No.3 to see 20-year-old tyro bumped up to open for Victoria’s Sheffield Shield side
Australia’s vacant Ashes opening berth could soon have another contender added to its mix as Victoria consider promoting Harry Dixon in a bid to help the blazing left-hander follow in the footsteps of his idol David Warner. Â
The Vics are considering a move that would see Dixon open with fellow young gun Campbell Kellaway in their Sheffield Shield side this season.
Such a move would squeeze Marcus Harris down the order. The 33-year-old, himself hopeful of adding to his 14 Tests as an opener, is fresh off a strong County Championship season batting at four for Lancashire.
But Dixon’s head-turning finish to the 2024-25 season, which included a blazing 86-ball 76 from No.5 against eventual champions South Australia, has the Victorians wondering what he could do in his preferred spot at the top of the order.
Usman Khawaja appears certain to face England in the first Test, but national selectors are waiting for the opening rounds of the Shield season to unfold before settling on their other opener.
Victoria coach Chris Rogers, the former Test bat who was Warner’s most successful opening partner before Khawaja, said discussions on a potential Shield top-order shift for Dixon are ongoing.
“If there’s one player that Harry reminds me of, it’s David Warner. He can play shots that Warner – and potentially (Travis) Head – can play,” Rogers told cricket.com.au.
“Davey as an opening bat was just so effective and set the tone in an innings. So that’s maybe a lever we could pull.
“We’re really keen to keep Kellaway opening, we see him as a long-term opener for Australia. That might mean that Marcus might slip down one.
“But we’re still yet to make the decision on whether we do go with Dixon as an opener or we ask him to be that explosive player in the middle, probably a bit more like a Travis Head.”
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It will be a moot point for Victoria’s first Sheffield Shield match on October 4 given Dixon will miss having been picked in the overlapping Australia A one-day series against India A in Kanpur.
The 20-year-old has not been selected for the four-day component of the tour, leaving him to play alongside Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Short in the Vics’ opening One-Day Cup matches against Queensland (September 17) and Tasmania (Sep 19) in Brisbane.
Maxwell is playing the 50-over games despite being retired from ODI cricket to ensure he is match fit for October’s T20I series against New Zealand.
Dixon ran drinks to Warner during the latter’s double-century against South Africa in the 2022-23 Boxing Day Test, giving the 17-year-old an up-close glimpse of his hero in action.
The following season, the Melbourne Grammar product out-scored Sam Konstas during Australia’s triumphant U19 World Cup campaign.
With only four first-class matches under his belt, Dixon remains a long shot to follow Konstas’s path into winning a Test spot at an especially young age for a top-order batter.
But a strong start to the 2025-26 season could vault him into contention like Konstas’s Shield runs did last summer.
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“I think long term he does (want to open). For the time being, he’s very open to what we see for him,” said Rogers.
“We will support him a lot through it, because it’s going to be challenging – you’ve got some high-class bowlers on some challenging pitches at times.
“But I still think Australia is crying out for an opening bat who can put some pressure back on the bowler. Dixon’s one of the few who has that ability.
“Now it’s about performance. You can have all the talent, and you can have people talking about you as much as they want, but you have to put performances on the board.”
Rogers insists Harris is not out of the Test reckoning either with the left-hander returning to Melbourne after piling on 1,027 first-class runs at 60.41, including three tons, during the northern summer.
The coach pointed to last summer’s selection of Nathan McSweeney, who bats at three for SA, as evidence Test openers do not necessarily have to bat there at domestic level.
“He was quite happy to bat four in county cricket,” Rogers said of Harris.
“He understands as a senior player too (in Victoria) that he’s got to score runs, but he’s also got a secondary responsibility and that’s to help the other young players in the team, that’s part of being a leader.
“His goal is still to opening the batting for Australia. I’d say whether you’re batting opening or three, I don’t think it makes too much difference.
“Clearly if you’ve got Nathan McSweeney getting chosen (to open in Tests), I don’t think that makes a lot of difference.
“I think for Marcus, it is actually going out and being the best player in the competition, that’s his best bet to get back into the side.
“As an older player, you probably have to knock the door down a little bit harder than some of the younger players at times.”
One-Day Cup 2025-26 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Total points
PTS
1
NSW Men
NSW
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Queensland Bulls
QLD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
South Australia Men
SA
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
Tasmanian Tigers Men
TAS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
Victoria Men
VIC
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
Western Australia Men
WA
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
PTS: Total points