Civil Service North of Ireland is pleased to announce the signing of Irish Passport holding kiwi all-rounder Ryan Harrison for its 2023 NCU campaign.
Harrison is a young, exciting batting all-rounder currently into his third season with the Auckland Aces in New Zealand domestic cricket.
Harrison earned his maiden Aces contract mid-way through the 2020/21 season but was unfortunately sidelined with a stress fracture (back) for the majority of last summer. That said, whilst unable to bowl, Harrison played for the Aces as a batter hitting 46 against Wellington, before facing 197 balls against a Central District attack featuring Blackcaps’ Blair Tickner, and Ajaz Patel, to secure a draw and ultimately help win the Plunket Shield.
While relatively new to the domestic scene, Harrison has forged exceptional numbers in Auckland Premier club cricket for East Coast Bays. He made his debut in 2014/15 as a fresh-faced 15-year-old. Since then, he’s played over 100 matches scoring nearly 3,000 plus runs with an average approaching 35. With the ball, he has bagged nearly 100 wickets with an average in the early 20s, albeit these statistics are on the rise courtesy of his recent exploits.
Harrison originally broke into the Bays side as a wicket-keeper but has since made a successful transition to seam-up, and is now a genuine batting all-rounder in both club and provincial cricket. Over the past few Premier club seasons, he has dominated hitting 772 runs at 51.46 with 2 tons, 3 fifties (2019/20), and 647 runs at 46.21 with 1 ton, and 2 fifties (2020/21). With the ball, he bagged 33 wickets at 18.12, and 23 wickets at 20.43 during these two seasons, respectively.
To date, Harrison has played many roles, from opening the bowling in his first-class debut to batting at number 5 and playing as a batter. One thing that does not change is his extremely high work ethic and willingness to become the best player he can be. In every team he has played for he has worked his way up the batting order and become a key part of every team he has played for from Auckland Under 17s to East Coast Bays Premiers, the only side he is yet to become a regular in is the Auckland Aces however his track record suggests it’s only a matter of time before this happens.
Alongside his domestic exploits, Harrison has played in India, Sri Lanka, and Australia on different tours at a range of levels but is now set for his first full-time winter gig outside of New Zealand in 2023.
The Auckland Ace is set to utilise his Irish Passport this summer having signed with Civil Service North of Ireland for their 2023 Northern Cricket Union campaign.
