HUW TURBERVILL: Thirty-seven wickets in the County Championship should be a target for James Harris this season
Thirty-seven wickets in the LV= Insurance County Championship should be a target for James Harris this season. That will take him to 250 for Glamorgan, the county he has returned to, one more than he took for Middlesex in the middle years of his career.
His first-class wicket hauls for the Welsh side were 33, 11, 43, 47 and 17; then 25, 17, his record 73, 16, 34, 61 and 23 at Lord's; and last year back on loan at Cardiff he took nine. He also took 19 on loan at Kent in 2017.
Fit and raring to go ahead of Thursday's opening match against Durham at Sophia Gardens, he said: "I'm getting slightly older, 31, and I'll be 32 during the season (May 16). My role in this team is to play well and be a leader, take wickets and score runs in this team but alongside that I want to give something back and say thanks to the game – to leave Glamorgan in as good a place as possible.
James Harris is ready for the new season
"I'm not sure I’ll be able to go on another 10 years like Michael Hogan (he turns 41 on May 31 and is in his final season), but let's see how the next few years go. I've probably bowled more overs than anyone as a 31-year-old, but my body seems great.
"There's lot of confidence around after our success in the Royal London One-Day Cup, and last summer we had some good Championship performances too, without quite putting a whole campaign together. There’s no reason why this squad of players cannot put a good season together.
"Marnus Labuschagne is the best player in the world. You cannot not be excited about him coming here. We all love cricket but his love of the game is on a different level."
Labuschagne will miss this week's match, but his compatriot Michael Neser is available.
It must be daunting bowling at Labuschagne in the nets, but Harris says nothing could be more nerve-wracking that his appearance in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's Select Committee at Westminster at the start of February.
Harris is keen for success at Glamorgan
Harris is one year into a two-year-term as PCA chairman (succeeding Worcestershire’s Daryl Mitchell), and said: "It's been hectic – you never quite know what's coming your way. My job is to represent the players and take their views back to the ECB. The winter was challenging all that is going on in the game after the Azeem Rafiq crisis. It was the toughest, most intimidating experience I have ever had to face the DCMS.
"It was a good thig to do, though. There have been things around the country at different clubs that have even unacceptable. We now need to make cricket and welcoming as possible.
"The high-performance review is about to take place, and we need to manage the new schedule. We must ensure that the players are as happy with the new structure as they can be from 2023 and beyond.
"It's been amazing to know how much stuff goes on around the game before we bat and bowl. It’s made my life busy around cricket. I can throw my name into the hat for another two years if I want, but I can still concentrate fully on my game, and because it’s a voluntary position it’s nice I can give something back.”
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