Canterbury: Ben Harris wins top cricket selector role (6 August 1999)

6 August 1999

Canterbury: Ben Harris wins top cricket selector role

Geoff Longley

Newly appointed Canterbury cricket selection panel convener Ben Harris will have three contemporaries in the hot-seat alongside him.

Harris has this week been elevated to the top job and will be joined by newcomers, former Canterbury pace bowlers Craig Thiele and Michael Sharpe, and coach Garry MacDonald.

It is the first time for many seasons Canterbury has decided to have a four-man selection panel as it seeks to develop new selectors.

Harris, who replaces the long-serving and successful Brian McKechnie, sees no conflict in having an extra selector.

"I don't think there would be many situations where it would be two-all and I might need to use a casting vote as convener when picking teams," Harris said.

"I'd like to think with the experience we have we'd talk things through and come pretty much to the same conclusions."

Harris has been thrust into the convener's role after just one season as a selector, but one which he said provided invaluable learning under McKechnie.

Last season Canterbury won the Shell Cup and Cricket Max titles.

"I also enjoy working with Garry MacDonald and the way he approaches the game."

Harris and his new panel face the regular Canterbury problem of supplying almost half the players to the New Zealand team and being without them for most of the season.

This season should be no exception.

Canterbury's New Zealand players will be sidelined for much of the domestic competitions, apart from the latter stages of the Shell Cup.

"I imagine we will look at continuing to develop the players in the trophy arena that we started blooding last season," Harris said.

"Stability is a key factor to successful teams and I can't see too many U-turns."

Canterbury's only significant player change this season is the loss of top-order batsman Llorne Howell to Auckland, which will be offset to some degree by the arrival of New Zealand Youth captain Jarrod Englefield, from Central Districts.

Harris is looking forward to having a pre-season get-together with the co-selectors to map out the summer ahead.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (https://www.press.co.nz/)