UK recruit for Victorian Premier Cricket contender

Camberwell Magpies are set for an early-season boost, with a first-class leg spinner set to be unleashed in Victorian Premier Cricket.

Nottinghamshire leg-spinner Calvin Harrison will play for Camberwell Magpies. Picture: Supplied

He was playing first-class cricket only a couple of months ago.

And on Saturday, Nottinghamshire leg-spinner Calvin Harrison will slot into Camberwell Magpies’ side for their match against ladder-leading Geelong in Round 3 of Victorian Premier Cricket.

The 26-year-old arrived in Melbourne last week and watched the Magpies on Saturday.

With 20 first-class and 61 T20 games under his belt, he will be a terrific boost to the Magpies’ bowling attack alongside Big Bash spinner Arjun Nair.

Arjun Nair of the Thunder bowls in the Big Bash League in 2019. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Harrison, who is also an accomplished batsman, stands 193cm and uses his height to his advantage with extra bounce.

“The name of the game obviously is to bowl out the opposition,’’ Camberwell Magpies co-president Tim Nelson said.

“And one of the things we’ve been looking for is to continue the strength in our bowling.’’

Camberwell Magpies have had two draws to start the season.

On Saturday, they had Footscray teetering at 5-18 — in reply to 5-330 — but couldn’t complete the job as the Bulldogs fought back to salvage a draw, finishing 7-202 off 90 overs.

Harrison was born in South Africa but grew up in New Zealand and England.

He played a couple of seasons at Wellington in New Zealand where he met Ben Shields and Alex Ridley, who play at Camberwell Magpies.

“To have a leg spinning all rounder is exciting,’’ Nelson said.

“His record in County cricket is pretty good and I think he’ll be a great addition.’’

Camberwell Magpies’ batsmen have started the season strongly, with Tom Scott making 99, Arjun Nair 85 and captain Shorye Chopra an unbeaten 70 against Footscray.