Harris enjoys a swinging time on opening day

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The opening day of the MCC's curtain-raiser against champion county Sussex was greeted by ball dominating bat on a lively pitch and a succession of batsmen failing to take the opportunity to make an early impression on watching national selector Geoff Miller.

And, on a day when Graham Onions enhanced his international aspirations, Steve Kirby showed why he remains one of the more combative bowlers on the circuit and James Foster impressed with his immaculate wicketkeeping, the show was ultimately stolen by an Australian.

Ryan Harris, an Adelaide-born all-rounder with an English father, was cleared to make his Sussex debut only on Wednesday night thanks to the ECB's new stringent policing of the ever-growing number of overseas players in the county game. He quickly emphasised, however, that he will be a valuable addition to the Sussex attack.

Harris, 28, knows about early English season conditions from time in the Lancashire leagues and, even though the cold should have mitigated against it, he made the ball swing immediately after Sussex had been bundled out for 171 when being tempted to bat by the deceptive spring sunshine.

The South Australian took the first three MCC wickets to fall in an opening eight-over spell, had a potential fourth victim in Owais Shah dropped by Chris Adams in the slips on 25 and then ran out Adil Rashid with a very un-English direct hit from mid-on. It left the MCC side, including six of the winter's England Lions party and two batsmen, in Ravi Bopara and Shah, who toured with the full team, at 130 for four by the close, 41 behind.

All of Harris's victims had plenty to gain here. Ed Joyce was in England's World Cup team this time last year but has disappeared from the international scene, Michael Carberry was the pick of the Lions batsmen in India and Bopara is looking to rebuild after a nightmare winter resulted in him losing his England place. Yet, none had an answer to Harris.

It was left to Shah, a brooding non-playing presence throughout England's Test tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand, to carry the fight for the MCC as he progressed to an unbeaten 72, easily the top score of the match.

Sussex, who won their third championship title in five years on a dramatic final day of the last domestic season, found life little easier against Onions, Kirby and the luckless Charlie Shreck.

Onions has been on the England fringes for two years and took three good wickets here while Kirby, whose chances of playing Test cricket may be behind him at 30, was unfortunate not to get a five-wicket haul.

The Gloucestershire seamer will never die wondering. He is a whole-hearted, aggressive performer who specialises in unusual sledging, once telling a bemused Mike Atherton that he had seen better batsmen in his fridge.

He took three for 18 in a 27-ball spell, returned to take a fourth and would have had a fifth had Carberry held a simple chance from Jason Lewry.

James Tredwell, preferred as spin option by Joyce to the exciting Rashid, then enjoyed himself against the tail with well-flighted off-spin.

While Harris was cleared to play by the ECB, others were not so lucky. They announced yesterday that four potential Kolpak players in Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Wavell Hinds and Johann van der Wath had been refused permission to play in county cricket, ostensibly because they have played in the outlawed Indian Cricket League. Shane Bond was cleared, however, because the New Zealand authorities had allowed him to play in India.