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Spinner to leave county champions for permanent Wantage Road deal
JAMES COYNE: Calvin Harrison, born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand, is a leg-spinner and frontline batter and his capture by Northants would represent one of the best pieces of close-season county business already
Calvin Harrison will leave the new county champions to join Northamptonshire on a two-year deal, The Cricketer understands.
The 27-year-old, born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand, is a leg-spinner and frontline batter and his capture by Northants would represent one of the best pieces of close-season county business already.
Harrison had one year left on his contract at Nottinghamshire. But his move until the end of the 2027 season would take him up to the end of Darren Lehmann's contract as Northants head coach.
Harrison spent most of the 2025 four-day campaign on loan at Northampton, playing 10 of his 11 Championship games for the Division Two side, and just once for Notts, at home to Somerset.
He immediately looked Northants' most dangerous bowler, taking 11 for 153 on debut for his loan county against Lancashire at Old Trafford. He topped the Northants wickets charts in the Championship with 36 wickets at an average of 29, and also contributed 456 runs, batting in the top order on occasion.
A thoughtful character, he would also appear to have the makings of a future county captain.
The emergence of teenage offspinner Farhan Ahmed and the rejuvenation of left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White over the last 18 months has left Harrison largely surplus to requirements at Notts. The impending arrival of another left-arm spinner, Joe Pocklington, could complicate things further.
Harrison remained a major weapon for the Outlaws in the 2025 Blast, sometimes playing as part of a spin trio or quartet. He was absent for the One-Day Cup in The Hundred.
But his desire for first-team cricket appears to have come to a head.
It underlines the difficulty of managing a competitive squad such as exists at Notts. Another very good county player, Matt Montgomery, chose to leave Notts for Derbyshire after similarly playing just one Championship game in 2025.
Notts' willingness to let Harrison go may also reflect the expected abolition of the Kookaburra-ball rounds from 2026 onwards – in which wrist-spinners like him came in especially useful. Harrison looked dangerous when he did play in the Kookaburra-ball game against Somerset, but Notts may feel they will now be able to get by with more orthodox spinners.
The move represents the latest in the close relations between Notts and Northants. Notts have sent spin bowlers Harrison, Patterson-White and Fateh Singh for time on loan at Northants when they have been unable to earn a place in the Notts first-team.
Brett Hutton also spent three seasons at Northants either side of his Notts career, and Ben Duckett moved from Wantage Road to Trent Bridge with a late-season initial loan period incorporated with it in 2018.
The appeal for Northants is obvious, as it would give them not only a reliable batter but a leg-spinner in the two main formats. The Steelbacks had to sign an overseas leg-spinner, Lloyd Pope, for the Blast last season.
Northants' one-year contract renewal for Rob Keogh – another experienced spin-bowling allrounder – appeared to cast doubt on the viability of Harrison moving to Wantage Road this winter, but the presence of both should provide more solidity to what has been a fairly unreliable batting order.
Pravda spins it:
Nottinghamshire have reluctantly permitted Calvin Harrison to be released from his contract one year early in order to allow him to sign for Northamptonshire.
The spin-bowling all-rounder made ten First-Class appearances for Northants across a number of loan spells last summer, claiming 36 wickets and scoring just under 500 runs, in addition to the four wickets in his sole Championship match for Notts.
Overall, Harrison, who first signed terms at Trent Bridge in 2021 following an impressive showing for Oxford UCCE in a pre-season friendly, has taken 103 all-format wickets for Notts.
“It’s a tough decision for everyone connected to the club when we have to make a decision like this, but doing so is part of the modern cricketing landscape,” said Head Coach Peter Moores.
“Calvin’s keen to play more four-day cricket, so we’ve agreed to his release to allow him to continue his development.
“His development and impact for us over recent seasons have shown his improvement as a player, especially in the shortest format of the game.”
Harrison began life with the Outlaws as a T20 specialist during his first two summers, before blossoming into an all-format player over ensuing years.
His athletic fielding also further endeared him to the Notts faithful, as he claimed 82 catches across his time at Trent Bridge to give him direct involvement in a total of 185 scalps.
Moores continued: “On the positive side, we already have a depth of spin resources, and this move will create further opportunities for Liam Patterson-White, Farhan Ahmed, and our recent signing Joe Pocklington.
“We wish Calvin well for the future and like all players that have moved on from us, we’ll never close the door on a return at some stage.”
Harrison added: "I’ve really enjoyed my time at Notts and I'm sad to be leaving. I’d like to thank Peter and Mick Newell for giving me the opportunity at Trent Bridge, and to all the coaching staff who have helped me to grow my game across all formats."
"It’s been a great dressing room to be part of, and I wish them the best of luck in defending the title next season."
24/10
Both contacted until the end of 2027
21/10
Both Joe Clarke and Tom Moores will play in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament next month
7 Farhan Ahmed 2027
33 Joe Clarke 2027 Revealed 24/10
17 Ben Duckett 2027
48 Tom Giles 2026
99 Haseeb Hameed 2027 Revealed 27/10
13 James Hayes 2026
30 Jack Haynes 2027
88 Travis Holland 2026
16 Brett Hutton 2026
8 Lyndon James 2027
4 Rob Lord 2026
12 Ben Martindale 2026
44 Freddie McCann 2027
3 Conor McKerr 2027
23 Tom Moores 2026 WHITE BALL ONLY
18 Dillon Pennington 2027
26 Ben Slater 2027
9 Olly Stone 2026
24 Josh Tongue 2026
Two more years of Connor McKerr who saw that he was worth that length of contract after a poor loan spell, terrible attitude need’s paying off
ReplyDeleteThe very same judges of players that signed Haseebdullah and Joseph perhaps.
DeleteYer I guess so can’t get it right all the time… 😊
ReplyDeleteCalvin Harrison signed permanently for Northants ?
ReplyDeleteThat would be disappointing and unfortunate Simon. Calvin has been a regular in our T20 side ever since Covid, is our best fielder (probably the best in the country too), a fans' favourite and is a player contracted to Notts until the end of next season. His profile at Notts has meant that he has played (been drafted to) every year in that franchise competition too. As the other southern Africans have departed (Monty leaving against wishes of the club and advice and young Dane) Calvin would be joining several players of that origin already at Wantage Road, but Div 2 cricket doesn't challenge enough for his calibre of cricketer IMHO. I wouldn't dismiss your question, as the Newell/Moores partnership do appear to be rubbish negotiators when it comes to ambitous cricketers that are in contract and on the staff. You just have to look at who has left in the last few years.
DeleteWell there you go Simon - have you got anymore insider tips up your sleeve?
DeleteNot at the moment Dave. I saw it on Facebook a couple of days ago. I'm a Derbyshire fan anyway 😉
DeleteCannot say I am too surprised to see Calvin go , The writing was on the wall when he spent a considerable amount of time at Northants last season, Can't say I blame for wanting the move he could see little. chance of forcing his way past LPW and Farhan, Notts clearly wanted to keep him but like any competitive sportsman he wanted to compete at the highest level he could , Notts seconds didn't just quite cut it!
DeleteIts difficult to see how Notts could replace him, Quality leg spinners are not that prevalent in English cricket, Farhan's big brother Rehan is probably along with Adil Rashid the best around , Cases against both could be made, Rashid plays little if any red ball cricket and Rehan if he continues his rapid development is likely to figure more with his country than his county, That's even if he wanted to leave Leicestershire which you would guess with that teams promotion is unlikely...
Zanga
Difficult to fit him in the red ball side - LPW(after last season) is way ahead of him and Farhan’s potential is massive
ReplyDeleteNot sure his stats in red ball would be too flash, decent white ball bowler without being a genuine match winner ? Certainly added variety and different options with his ‘leggies’ but if he wants more red ball, what can you do ? Not helped by the pitches at our place with playing more than one spinner(generally speaking)
Would say at present he’s a good Div2 player, perhaps playing on the Wantage Rd pitches will turn him into a Div1 performer in a few seasons
Think “Terry” McCann can give him a run for slip catches ? Batting hasn’t kicked on with us also, but there’s potential there for Darren Lehmann to work with for sure
The above ⬆️ was from me !
DeleteI thought the club's current strategy was to up the T20 potential to match that of the Championship side. I don't see how that improves by losing our only leggy and bringing in no one. What's with the clearout of all the southern Africans that we had, BTW?
DeleteI’ve already given up 🆙 with the Blast 💥 big Dave ! Got nil expectancy with this comp any more I’m afraid 😱
DeleteHarrison’s record for Notts:
ReplyDeleteFC (19 games):
Batting: 25-3-455-52-20.68 (1x 50); 36 ct
Bowling: 421.5-36-1526-41-37.21 (BB 5-128; 1x 5WI)
List A (8 games):
Batting: 8-1-94-41-13.42; 7 ct
Bowling: 56.1-0-312-5-62.40 (BB 1-0; R/O 5.55)
T20 (63 games):
Batting: 39-18-271-22*-12.90; 39 ct
Bowling: 180.4-1-1398-57-24.52 (BB 4.17; R/O 7.73)
***
His FC record for Northants to date (10 games) is as follows:
Batting: 15-1-456-122-32.57 (1x 100, 2x 50); 17 ct
Bowling: 366.3-62-1066-36-29.61 (BB 7-119; 1x 5WI, 1x 10WM)
Given that he’s already moved up the order for Northants and was batting at 3 or 4 by the end of the season, perhaps he’ll fill the sort of role that Matt Critchley does for Essex, and did for Derbyshire?
DJP
What did G Swann say at the EGM in Sept about Calvin? That he is a better bowler NOW, after the coaching work done during the summer with the franchise.
DeleteWho benefits NOW? Not Team Nottinghamshire that is for sure. Give your assets away, you become poorer. Notts fans are unlikely to see Harrison at all in 2026, even playing against the Green and Gold, after the reducing/restructuring of the T20 Blast, so the Notts fans won't be able to watch the improved Calvin Harrison in 2026 and of course he's now playing Div 2 as well.
Good player and good man. Good that he wants to play more 4 day cricket. Wish him well and many thanks to him.
ReplyDeleteDecent stats for Northants last season - albeit its like going from the Premier League(Div One) to League 2(Div Two) so if you don’t perform at that level, you really shouldn’t be on a pro contract anyway
ReplyDeleteYou can only play 11 players and he is simply behind LPW and you have to back young wizard 🧙♀️ Farhan at his age with his potential
- you ain’t gonna play 3 spinners in red ball, very often not even 2 esp at the real home 🏡 of cricket 🏏 so at the end of day if he wants more red ball, then he moves on
As Del Boy would say “it’s all epidemic now anyway” - he’s gone and good luck to him
But I would suggest we are talking about Calvin Harrison leaving and not Shane Warne or Richie Benaud - so let’s keep a sense of perspective I say