Middlesex Cricket is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mike ‘Pasty’ Harris, aged 81.
Michael John Harris, known as Pasty, was born in St Just in Roseland, Cornwall, in May 1944, and enjoyed a career as a professional cricketer which spanned almost two decades, between the years 1964 and 1982.
He was a right-handed top-order batter, occasional leg-spin bowler and wicket-keeper, who reached the batters’ milestone of 1,000 runs in a first-class season on 11 separate occasions.
He began his playing career at Middlesex in 1964 and played for the Club until the end of 1968, receiving his Middlesex Cap in 1967.
In five years at Middlesex, he made 72 first-class appearances for the Club, scoring 3,371 runs, hitting six hundreds and 16 half-centuries, taking 27 catches, and two wickets.
In List-A cricket he made just four appearances for Middlesex, scoring 55 runs, and taking three catches.
Following his five-year career with Middlesex he joined Nottinghamshire, where his career really flourished, as he made 261 first-class appearances and 216 List-A appearances across 13 seasons, scoring over 20,000 runs for the Outlaws across both formats of the game.
In his playing career he also spent time in South Africa, with Eastern Province in 1971/72 and in New Zealand with Wellington in 1975/76.
After retiring from playing the game, he became a qualified umpire, officiating in 161 first-class matches, 171 List-A matches, and 33 T20 wickets.
The thoughts and prayers of all at Middlesex Cricket are with Mike’s family and many friends at this saddest of times.
