Pasty Harris


Michael John "Pasty" Harris is a former English first-class cricketer who played for various teams. He played from 1964 until 1982 in a 344-game First class career which took him to South Africa and New Zealand.

Early life

Harris was born in St Just in Roseland, Cornwall in 1944. His nickname of "Pasty" referred to his Cornish origins.

Playing career

In England he represented Nottinghamshire, for whom he scored over 15,000 runs, and Middlesex County Cricket Club, playing as a right-handed batsman and, from 1969 until around 1972, as a useful leg spin bowler. From 1974 to 1977, Nottinghamshire used him as their wicketkeeper as David Pullan, the incumbent, was a poor batsman. Harris hit nine centuries, equalling the county record, in 1971 when he scored 2238 runs.
In 1974, Harris was selected to tour Rhodesia with the International Wanderers, a private touring team organised by Brian Close.
A prolific batsman in county cricket, he was selected on standby for the 1974-75 Ashes tour but was superseded by Colin Cowdrey.

Umpiring career

Harris was later became an umpire, officiating at List A level from 1985 to 2008 and at First class level from 1988 to 2008.