Matthew Harrison named Greenvale Kangaroos captain for 2021-22 season

To be captain of any Premier Cricket club is an honour and Matthew Harrison has entered exclusive company after taking the reins at Greenvale.

Matthew Harrison in action for Greenvale. Picture: Hamish Blair

Respected batsman Matthew Harrison will enter rare air this season after being named Greenvale Kangaroos captain.

The Kangaroos will be the third Premier Cricket club Harrison has led after previously captaining Prahran and Geelong.

Greenvale’s leading run-scorer in his first season with the club in 2020-21, he was promoted to the top job after Michael Stretton’s departure.

Harrison knocked up 336 runs at an average of 54.4 in his return to the top flight last season.

Kangaroos coach Damian Shanahan said the veteran run-scorer would help develop the club’s young players on and off the field.

“It’s great. It’s fantastic to have an experienced head like Matthew 100 per cent invested in the group after 12 months now,” Shanahan said.

“He understands where we at, he’s going to be an on-field coach for us, setting our values and standards really high.

“Harro did that last year as well, he captained a couple of games when Michael was interstate or had other things on.

“That knowledge of the game at the level will be such a benefit for our developing young players, he’s a great right-hand man to have.

“He’s a real asset for us whether he’s batting or at training or it’s captain the First XI and guiding the ship on the ground.”

Harrison captained Geelong under Shanahan and led Prahran under new senior assistant coach Barry Neivandt.

Shanahan was looking forward to seeing his players’ growth under Neivandt.

“I’ve known Barry for a long time as well through Premier Cricket, always against each other not with each other, but he’s someone that I hold in high regard,” he said.

Matthew Harrison in action for Greenvale Kangaroos. Picture: Hamish Blair

“He has a wealth of experience and drives the vehicle pretty hard for the playing group and is the type of person we need to drive the standards.

“We’re two sessions in and he’s already making great inroads.”

Greenvale has already made a strong start to recruiting season, snaring Harry Singh from Kingston-Hawthorn and luring Englishman Jack Potticary back.

Singh was the Hawks’ leading wicket-taker last season with 19 scalps at 25.58.

He’ll form a lethal pace battery with 2019-20 Team of the Year paceman Sean McNicholl and breakthrough star Darcy Bell.

Shanahan said Singh had already made an impact.

“Harry lives in Truganina, so he’s in our backyard, he’s trained the last two sessions and been fantastic. He’s made an impact straight away,” he said.

“He wants to learn his craft and be the best Premier cricketer he can be, it’s exciting for our group, the club and from a coaching point of view to help mould him into something special.

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“I’d like to think we’re getting a nice little component there with our bowling stocks and our spinners on top of that.

“It will create some competition internally, which drives the vehicle harder, and also gives us firepower constantly through a game of cricket.”

Potticary is set to return after missing last season.

The former First Class batsman scored 223 runs in seven First XI games, including a maiden century – 107 not out against Frankston Peninsula.