Mark Harman (cricketer)

Mark David Harman (born 30 June 1964) played first-class and List A cricket for Somerset in 1986 and 1987 and for Kent in 1988 and 1989.^[1] He was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Harman was a lower-order right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-spin bowler. He played for Somerset's second eleven before he was 17, but had to wait more than five years before he made a first-team appearance: the stumbling-block to his career was the presence in the Somerset side of Vic Marks, a much better batsman and an occasional Test off-spinner.^[2] In two seasons of first-team cricket with Somerset, Harman played only nine first-class and three limited-overs matches, and took just eight first-class wickets and only one in List A games. His best bowling for Somerset was only two for 38, though he did make his highest first-class score, 41, in the match against Kent at Bath.^[3] At the end of the 1987 season, he took up a contract with Kent.

The move to Kent brought somewhat more regular first-team cricket, though Harman was largely restricted to the first-class team, playing only one List A match in his two years with the county. The 1988 season brought his two best bowling performances. Against Oxford University he took five wickets for 55 runs.^[4] Then in August he took five Leicestershire second-innings wickets out of the seven that fell in a drawn match.^[5] Having played in half of Kent's first-class matches in 1988, however, Harman reverted to being a fringe player in 1989: he had his best match return with nine wickets for 136 runs in the game against Cambridge University.^[6] But was picked for only one other match, and at the end of the season he left the staff to take up a career in accountancy.^[2]

Mark married Maria in 1989. They have two children, Harry and Arthur.

References