Premier Cricket 2018-19: Northcote all-rounder Sam Harbinson returns from injury with point to prove
OVER the ankle and hamstring injuries which plagued him last summer, Northcote all-rounder Sam Harbinson has declared he feels “the fittest I have ever been”.
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OVER the ankle and hamstring injuries which plagued him last summer, Northcote all-rounder Sam Harbinson has declared he feels “the fittest I have ever been”.
The 23-year-old’s last Premier Cricket campaign was punctuated by injury and he finished the season playing solely as a batsman.
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Harbinson was let loose for the first time this season in Round 6 against Greenvale Kangaroos, when the paceman snared 7-68 across two innings.
He has carried that form into the Vic Super Slam, taking seven wickets in three games and compiling scores of 45 not out, 55 not out and 23 to open the Twenty20 tournament.
“I remember last season when I came back from the hamstring injury, it took me a good five or six games to get the confidence back,” Harbinson said.
“Just as I felt confident again I had the really bad ankle injury.
“That wrote off the season in a way, but I came back as a bat in the second grade.
“It took me a few games with the ball this season as well just to get the confidence back.
“Now I am feeling as good as I ever have in terms of confidence and rhythm.”
Harbinson believes returning as a batsman in the Second XI for the last five rounds of 2017-18 will have long-term benefits.
He reached triple figures for the first time with Northcote in Round 17, plundering an unbeaten 150 against Prahran.
Harbinson, who has batted twice this summer for scores of 72 and one, said being unable to bowl had “massively” helped his batting.
“Doing the ankle, it made me pretty immobile,” he said.
“It forced me to work on my batting. Three or four weeks after the injury I was able to bat, but that’s about all I could do.
“That really helped. When you are fully fit, you have to have a 50-50 split with what you are working on. But having that time just to work on my batting really helped.”
Northcote coach Steve Taylor said Harbinson was “a natural” with bat and ball.
“Particularly with the ball, his ability to swing it both ways at pace. Fingers crossed he can string some games together,” Taylor said.
Taylor said Harbinson shaped as a key figure as the Dragons fight to stay in contention for a finals berth.
“It’s not just so much his top speed, it’s his ability to sustain it,” he said.
“We’ve seen how important he is with the bat as well. Fingers crossed he can stay on the park and string some games together because he is so important for us.”
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Harbinson revealed a shift from weights training to pilates had helped him regain confidence in his body.
“I have been doing a lot of pilates which has really helped me with flexibility and injury prevention,” he said.
“That has really helped with my body and preparing it to get through all the fast-bowling demands.”
He said plyometrics and “cardio-based” training had also been crucial to his recovery.
“I think that is an area of my game I wanted to improve, just to bowl more overs and make it more bowling specific rather than just lift weights,” Harbinson said.
“When I had that string of hamstring injuries, I spent a lot of time doing weights and neglected my hamstrings a bit. Doing cardio and pilates has helped me a lot more and I feel like it’s a lot more specific.”
Harbinson, who declared his desire to earn a Futures League call-up before injuries struck in 2016, said he hoped to form a lethal opening-bowling combination with English recruit George Garton.
“When he gets going at full tilt, it is going to be really exciting to be bowling alongside him,” he said.
“Having that right-left hand combination is really good. We complement each other.”
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