All hail Harry, at 40 still writing legendary chapters

Chris Harris

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OPINION: While the majority of the cricketing focus centres on Dunedin with the Black Caps after the scalp of Pakistan, there's one fairytale cricket story that shouldn't go unnoticed, writes Logan Savory in this week's Sav's Say.

The bloke upon which this remarkable story is based isn't startling, on the face of it.

He's not your flashy Brendon McCullum or Ross Taylor-type cricketer but more often than not he delivers.

We're talking about a guy who has has been balding for some time, who walks with a permanent sort of limp and can be spotted with a cigarette dangling from his lips during the odd rain break.

The person in question is, of course, Chris Harris. These days he's far from being a superstar but he still must be regarded as one of the legends of New Zealand cricket.

Yesterday he completed something special. Harris celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday by racking up his 15th first-class century yesterday, in his 129th first-class outing.

He scored 105 in Canterbury's total of 540 against Auckland.

To highlight Harris' longevity in the game of cricket, when he made his debut for Canterbury in 1989 his current Canterbury team-mate Corey Anderson wasn't even born.

In the opposition that day during that debut game against Otago was current Sport Southland chief executive Richard Hoskin, who last month celebrated his 50th birthday.

Harris should go down in New Zealand cricket folklore as a legend of the game.

The tag shouldn't be lumped on him because of his abilities. If we are totally frank about it, Harris is far from the most skilful player to have represented New Zealand.

His deliveries are gentle leg-spinners, which look like he's trying to open a door in his bowling release, while his batting is best described as fidgety and nuggety.

But anyone who can still not just play but excel at top-level domestic cricket when he passes the 40 mark must be admired.

Cricket is a tiresome sport. They are long days and can be brutal on the mind if things aren't going so well. To push yourself through 20 years of that intense pressure at a high level is nothing short of exceptional, or mad – take your pick.

The other astonishing aspect to this story is the passionate Cantabrian doesn't seem to be hanging up his cricket gear any time soon either.

Just maybe the young gun of the 1992 New Zealand World Cup team has some more chapters to add to his long but memorable story.

» Logan Savory is a former Southland cricket representative who was named New Zealand junior sportswriter of the year at the 2007 TP McLean journalism awards. His main rounds are cricket and rugby.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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