Waitaki Boys 1942-1947

Born in Christchurch 1927. ‘Zin’ Harris attended Waitaki Boys’ from 1942 to 1947 as a boarding student. In 1947 he was the Head Boy of the school.

‘Zin’ first played 1st XI Cricket in 1943 and thus represented the 1st XI for 5 years. That is certainly a unique feat. Looking closely through the records it appears his highest score was 99 run out in the Timaru Boys’ interschool of 1944. His best bowling figures were 5/7 including a hat-trick in the club match v Oamaru in 1945. In 1946 he was chosen to play representative cricket for North Otago and top scored with 45 against an Otago selection. In 1945 he captained the school 1st XI.

His sporting success at school was not only limited to cricket. From the Waitakians of 1942 – 1947 it can be seen that he won boxing and handicapped swimming events. He must have had some rivalry with I.T. Burrows (son of the Rector Brigadier Burrows and Head Boy in 1949), losing twice on points in 1946 and 1947 in the middleweight division.

In 1947, not only was ‘Zin’ captain of the 1st XI in his fifth year in the team, he won the Senior High Jump, was 1st in the 75yd sprint, 2nd in the 100yd sprint (to John Hotop), a member of the school tennis and fives teams and in the 1st XV he played at second five where he proved a “strong link” outside future All Black first five, John Hotop. It should be noted that the SKC interschool was won 24-0. ‘Zin’s younger brother John was the star of this match, scoring a hat-trick of tries. The Harris brothers must have been some ‘tour de force’ during their time at Waitaki – their names are almost inseparable with their achievements during this period.

After leaving school ‘Zin’ went to Otago dental school and eventually moved back to Christchurch to continue the family dental practice in Cashel St. In 1949 he made his first class cricket debut for Canterbury. Over the next 16 years he went on to play 69 times for Canterbury, scoring over 3000 runs at an average of 28.16, including 5 centuries.

The pinnacle of his cricket career was his selection for the national side in 1955, becoming Black Cap #72.

The first of his nine tests came against Pakistan in Karachi. He passed 50 twice, both against South Africa in 1961/2, when he scored 74 in the first test in Durban and 101 in the third test in Cape Town. This was NZ’s first test victory overseas. The South African captain Jackie McGlew said of Harris’ contribution to that series “We had the utmost respect for Harris who never took a backward step but played the game with a smile on his face. His contribution to the Kiwi team was huge”. His final test was against Pakistan in Auckland in 1965. An apt summary of his test cricket career was given in the cricket publication “Men in White” where it stated “the mercurial Harris as well as being a tenacious gutsy batsman, was also a magnificent cover fieldsman who took many brilliant catches for both New Zealand and Canterbury during the course of his 69 first class matches”.

‘Zin’ was also a very talented golfer – playing off a scratch handicap and good enough to play in the 1963 NZ Open as well as an A grade squash player.

In 1991 he sadly passed away aged 64, the year he was due to retire from his dental practice.

Of his three sons, Ben and Tim both attended Waitaki Boys’ High School during the 1970’s and 80’s, and Chris who attended St Andrews College in Christchurch followed his father’s footsteps into international cricket playing 250 one day games and 23 Tests for the Black Caps. Ben also played first class cricket for Canterbury and Otago.

It is fitting that PGZ ‘Zin’ Harris is the first cricket inductee into the Waitaki Boys’ Sports Hall of Fame.

P.G.Z ‘Zin’ Harris

Waitaki Boys’ High School 1942-1947

Head Boy 1947

NZ Cricket Representative 1955-1965 (9 tests)

Black Cap #72

“We had the utmost respect for Harris who never took a backward step but played the game with a smile on his face. His contribution to the Kiwi team was huge” Jackie McGlew, South African cricket captain 1962.