Marcus Harris last played Test cricket for Australia in the Sydney leg of the 2021/22 Ashes, a series in which he made just 179 runs at an average of 29.83 before Khawaja made his makeshift move to the top of the order a permanent one with twin centuries in Harris' final game.
Several technical flaws and deficiencies such as his footwork were blamed for his lean returns in that series and the 32-year-old appears to have since been permanently written off for younger alternatives such as dynamo Sam Konstas.
He appeared to be on the verge of a recall when it was time to consider David Warner's permanent replacement, following 601 runs in the 2022/23 Sheffield Shield at an average of nearly 40, but Harris produced just seven scores of 50+ from 34 runs in the following two Shield seasons to again fall out of favour.
Whilst Sam Konstas was recently awarded his first Cricket Australia central contract, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has recently confirmed that there is still an open position at the top of the order for June's WTC final alongside Khawaja.
Harris crunched 21 boundaries at number four in a first innings 138 for Lancashire in the County Championship against Middlesex at Lord's, which is most notably the venue for the all-important WTC final.
Albeit not as an opener, Harris' century could also put further pressure on the out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne to score heavily in his upcoming stint with Glamorgan, which will soon begin after the conclusion of his mandated rest period.
In other news, Harris' compatriot Caleb Jewell recorded a pair of fifties (61 and 51*) in a comfortable nine-wicket win for Derbyshire at home to Gloucestershire.
