Marcus Harris Extends Lancashire Contract for Two Years

Following his strong start to the Championship season, Marcus Harris, the interim skipper for Lancashire County Cricket Club, has agreed to a two-year contract extension. 

Harris has reached an agreement to play for Lancashire for the next two summers after scoring 825 runs, including three hundreds, in seven games this season.

Harris, who recently succeeded Keaton Jennings as interim captain, failed to stop Leicestershire from winning by an innings last week, leaving Lancashire without a victory after seven games and one point above the bottom of the Division Two standings. Steven Croft is taking temporary leadership after Dale Benkenstein lost his position as head coach due to their terrible run of play.

With 14 Test matches under his belt, Harris, who turns 33 in July, has not played for Australia since the 2021–22 Ashes and seems to be unpopular with the national selectors. For Lancashire, he should be available at all times during the upcoming summer. He is expected to play in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup but is not included in their preparations for the T20 Blast.

If outcomes don't improve, Mark Chilton, Lancashire's director of cricket, might potentially face pressure to leave his position, but he expressed his satisfaction at signing Harris.

“Marcus has made a tremendous impact with the sheer volume of runs that he has scored during the first two months of the season,” Chilton said.

"He is also a great character and leader, which is why we decided for him to take over the captaincy in four-day cricket, and we are pleased that he will be here long term. Having Marcus signed up for the next two seasons after this one allows us to have continuity and consistency and means we can plan further ahead knowing he will be here with us," Mark Chilton added.