Harris still needs run avalanche to earn place (9 December 1998)

9 December 1998

Harris still needs run avalanche to earn place

By Geoff Longley

Where to now for popular Canterbury cricketer Chris Harris after his failure to make the New Zealand test team against India?

Despite averaging 52 from his six first-class innings this season, better than most selected ahead of him, and with a first-class average over all well into the 40s, Harris has been overlooked.

National selection panel convener Ross Dykes says Harris is in the same place he was before the team was picked, needing to score an avalanche of runs to oust one of the top-order batsmen.

Despite scoring more runs than the likes of Canterbury team-mates Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan against whom he was competing for a position during the Conference series, Dykes said they were the incumbents and had shown the ability to perform in the test arena.

The hurdle for Harris is a test average of 15.6 from 14 tests but it becomes a catch-22 situation if he does not get playing opportunities. In the one-day arena Harris is one of the first players picked being an indispensable part of the side.

Dykes said Harris was not being considered as an all-rounder for the test team but had to earn a position as a batting specialist with his slow bowling a back-up.

Harris's scores for Southern in the Conference series were 159no v Central, 29 v Pakistan, 33 v Northern, 26 and 10 v Central and 3 v Pakistan A for New Zealand A.

Dykes noted that Harris began well but his form tapered off.

In recent seasons Harris has been an almost permanent attachment to the test team as 12th man with a lingering suspicion that his world-class fielding skills have kept him in the group.

The selectors now say they have made a commitment to a second spin bowler, Paul Wiseman, in the side to better cover all options and feel Wiseman has grown in stature in recent times. But Dykes said it was unfair to directly compare Wiseman with Harris.

However, Harris could perhaps be rated alongside all-rounder Dion Nash whose batting ability lends depth to the inconsistent Black Caps top order but with three other pace bowlers chosen and back-up from Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle that could be deemed enough.

At least instead of being locked into sitting in the stands while a five-day match grinds on, Harris can be playing for Canterbury, maintaining his match fitness and enhancing the provincial team performance with his skills. In the past Black Caps coach Steve Rixon rated Harris such an invaluable squad member he refused to release him for provincial play.

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