Chris Harris (cricketer)

Chris Zinzan Harris (born 20 November 1969) is a former New Zealand cricketer who became, over the course of the 1990s, a folk-hero in New Zealand cricket. Harris was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy.

A left-handed middle-order batsman and deliverer of right-arm slow-medium deliveries, Harris rescued the New Zealand team's batting on numerous occasions and his deceptive looping bowling often restricted the run rates of opposition batting line-ups.

Personal life

Harris's father Zin Harris was also a New Zealand international player, and his brother Ben Harris has played at first-class level. All three of these players share the family traditional name of "Zinzan", also shared by a distant relation, former All Black Zinzan Brooke.

Domestic career

In first-class cricket Harris has played 128 matches and scored over 7000 runs at an average of over 45, including 13 centuries with a highest score of 251*. He has taken over 120 wickets at an average of 38, with best figures of 4/22. However, his test career was limited to just 23 Tests, where his average with the bat was only around 20, and he took only 16 wickets at 73 runs apiece.

In 2007 Harris played for Bacup in the Lancashire League and finished the season as the League's highest wicket-taker with 82 at 13.08.<ref>Lancashire League 2007 – Most wickets, CricketArchive, Retrieved 13 October 2007</ref> Harris was the captain of the Indian Cricket League's Hyderabad Heroes.

Harris is also a sensation at the indoor version of the game and represented Canterbury and New Zealand at will and is also involved in the coaching of Canterbury youth indoor cricket teams.

During the 2012–13 season, Harris played club cricket as a player/coach for Papatoetoe Cricket Club, Auckland, New Zealand.<ref name="Papatoetoe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Since the 2013–14 season, Harris has joined the Sydenham Cricket Club, Christchurch, New Zealand<ref>Chris Harris joins Sydenham, Sydenham Cricket Club Official Website, Retrieved 11 September 2013</ref><ref>Ageless Harry signs on, The Christchurch Press, Retrieved 11 September 2013</ref> and was selected as the club's Player of the Year.<ref>2013/14 Sydenham Cricket Club Trophy Winners, Sydenham Cricket Club Official Website, Retrieved 8 April 2014</ref> Harris became the Premier teams Player/Coach at the start of the 2014–15 season. In the 2015/16 season, Harris led the Sydenham Premier team to win their first 2 Day Championship title in 30 years, culminating in winning the Canterbury Metropolitan Cricket Association's "Men’s Club Cricket Player of the Year" award.<ref>Christchurch Metro Cricket Awards Evening Template:Webarchive, Canterbury Metropolitan Cricket Association Official Website, Retrieved 13 April 2016</ref>

Harris stepped down as Sydenham Player/Coach at the start of the 2019–20 season, being replaced by another former Black Cap Matthew Bell.<ref>Matthew Bell Signed as New Sydenham Coach, Sydenham Cricket Club Official Website, Retrieved 11 July 2019</ref> Harris still played for the Premier team in the 1-Day competition.<ref>Chris Harris: Taking strike on the cusp of 50, Otago Daily Times Website, Retrieved 18 November 2019</ref>

After cricket

File:Chris Harris Basin.JPG

Chris Harris presenting a pitch report for Sky Sport before a Super Smash game at the Basin Reserve.

Harris become one of many high-profile international cricketers to move to Zimbabwe to be involved in the country's cricket, and was in charge of the national U-19 side.<ref name="Papatoetoe"/> He also was a cricket commentator for Sky Sport and since 2023 has been part of SENZ cricket commentary team.

External links

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