Star Saints Premier all-rounder Lachie Harper has earned a Canterbury men's contract for the 2026/27 season following an impressive debut season in the red-and-black.
Lachie had been on the fringes of the side for some time, but with a sustained run of fitness and form stepped up another level last season. Firstly at club level where he struck 2 centuries and 4 fifties in 17 innings, scoring 616 runs at 41.07. He still finished 4th in the Saints runs aggregates despite representative duties taking him away for a third of the season. His bowling loads were managed, only sending down 65.4 overs but striking quickly and often, taking 18 wickets.
Lachie made his Canterbury debut in a Super Smash game against Northern Brave on the home turf of Hagley Oval in January, top scoring in a well-beaten side. His 42 off 27 balls set a new record in worldwide representative Twenty20 cricket for the highest score by a No. 10 on debut (and 5th highest score at that position). Walking in to bat at 80/8 he and Sean Davey brought some respectability to Canterbury's total, adding a Super Smash best of 62 for the 9th wicket, breaking a record that had stood for 16 years. Four games later he recorded the best figures of the Super Smash season (4-17 against Wellington).
Highest Scores by a Number 10 Batter on Twenty20 Debut
| Score | Player | Team | Opposition | Ground | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Lachie Harper | Canterbury | v Northern Districts | Hamilton | 2025/26 |
| 37* | Mushtaq Ahmed | Larkana Region | v Lahore Whites | Karachi | 2023/24 |
| 37 | Jafer Chohan | Yorkshire | v Bears | Birmingham | 2023 |
| 36 | Rajesh Mohanty | Odisha | v Chhattisgarh | Cuttack | 2018/19 |
| 24 | Lucky Pangabantu | Border | v Boland | Paarl | 2011/12 |
Highest Scores by a Number 10 Batter in Twenty20 Cricket
| Score | Player | Team | Opposition | Ground | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | Manjula Jayawardhana | Police Sports Club | v Colts CC | Colombo (Moors) | 2018/19 |
| 52* | Lasana Lamin | Sierra Leone | v Eswatini | Abuja | 2024/25 |
| 45 | Shakeel Ahmed | Oman | v Netherlands | Al Amerat | 2024/25 |
| 44* | Akeal Hosein | West Indies | v England | Bridgetown | 2021/22 |
| 42 | Lachie Harper | Canterbury | v Northern Districts | Hamilton | 2025/26 |
Super Smash Best 9th Wicket Partnerships
| Runs | Players | Team | Opposition | Ground | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Sean Davey & Lachie Harper | Canterbury | v Northern Districts | Hamilton | 2025/26 |
| 47* | Bradley Scott & Tim Southee | Northern Districts | v Otago | Invercargill | 2009/10 |
| 43 | Blake Coburn & Will Williams | Canterbury | v Wellington | Christchurch (HO) | 2021/22 |
| 43 | Todd Astle & Matt Henry | Canterbury | v Northern Districts | Hamilton | 2021/22 |
| 42 | Bradley Scott & Joseph Yovich | Northern Districts | v Auckland | Auckland (CMP) | 2009/10 |
2025/26 Super Smash Best Bowling Figures
| Figures | Player | Team | Opposition | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-17 | Lachie Harper | Canterbury | v Wellington | Christchurch (HO) |
| 4-21 | Ajaz Patel | Central Districts | v Wellington | Palmerston North |
| 4-21 | Harjot Johal | Auckland | v Otago | Auckland (EPOO) |
| 4-23 | Luke Georgeson | Otago | v Central Districts | Alexandra |
| 4-23 | Blair Tickner | Central Districts | v Otago | Napier |
His maiden List A (Ford Trophy) appearance came 5 days after finishing runners-up in the Super Smash final, again making a memorable debut impression. Still in T20 mode as Auckland chased a reduced target of 209 in 21 overs at Eden Park Outer Oval, Lachie cleaned up the mid-to-lower order with figures of 4-31 off 2.3 overs. Canterbury made another decider but came up empty-handed again with Lachie going wicketless in the Ford Trophy final against the Central Stags at the Basin Reserve, but it wrapped up a run of 13 white-ball rep games in less than 7 weeks.
Best List A Bowling Figures on Debut for Canterbury
| Figures | Player | Opposition | Ground | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-30 | Sean Davey | v Wellington | Christchurch (HO) | 2020/21 |
| 5-26 | Leighton Burtt | v Auckland | Auckland (EPOO) | 2005/06 |
| 4-13 | Stu Roberts | v Wellington | Timaru | 1986/87 |
| 4-25 | Matt Henry | v Central Districts | Rangiora | 2011/12 |
| 4-31 | Chris Kirk | v Otago | Christchurch (LP) | 1971/72 |
| 4-31 | Lachie Harper | v Auckland | Auckland (EPOO) | 2025/26 |
Since central contracts came into being in 2002 for the men (domestic and international), 2013 for women (international) and 2019 (domestic), there have been 15 Saints players who have earned one.
Some of these players earned further contracts playing having relocated to other clubs or provinces. There are also many others who earned their first contract after their time with St Albans, who are not listed below.
Contracted St Albans Representative Players
(* indicates Black Caps or White Ferns contract; + indicates White Ferns Development contract):
| Player | Contracts | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Harris | 6 | 2002/03*, 2003/04*, 2004/05*, 2005/06*, 2006/07, 2007/08 |
| Chris Martin | 4 | 2002/03*, 2003/04, 2004/05*, 2009/10* |
| Stephen Cunis | 3 | 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06 |
| James Ward | 1 | 2004/05 |
| Michael Davidson | 1 | 2008/09 |
| Brad Cachopa | 2 | 2012/13, 2013/14 |
| Kyle Jamieson | 1 | 2014/15 |
| Amy Satterthwaite | 7 | 2015/16*, 2016/17*, 2017/18*, 2018/19*, 2019/20*, 2020/21*, 2021/22* |
| Lea Tahuhu | 8 | 2015/16*, 2016/17*, 2017/18*, 2018/19*, 2019/20*, 2020/21*, 2021/22*, 2022/23 |
| Thamsyn Newton | 2 | 2016/17*, 2017/18* |
| Nat Cox | 4 | 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 |
| Gabby Sullivan | 4 | 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22+, 2022/23 |
| Tyler Lortan | 1 | 2020/21 |
| Kate Sims | 1 | 2021/22 |
| Lachie Harper | 1 | 2026/27 |
