Nephew of first-class cricketer Laurence Harper (Victorian Player of the Year 1997-98), Sam had a lot to live up to, and took the conventional route through the Australian ranks. He attended the Australian Center of Excellence in Melbourne and being scouted into the U-19 side for the 2014 World Cup, and was an impressive young captain as well for Victoria.
After impressive showings with the bat, including an explosive century against Papua New Guinea in a high-performance camp in Brisbane. He was handed a rookie contract in April 2015 by the Victorian Bushrangers, followed by Shield debut by Victoria in February 2016 where had a moderate outing with the bat, making 21 in the first innings. Nonetheless, he affected 9 dismissals behind the stumps, the most on debut by any wicketkeeper in Sheffield Shield history.
He made headlines when he was unintentionally hit on the helmet with the bat by Jake Lehmann and suffered a heavy concussion. However, he showed character and made a speedy recovery within 3 weeks, and a subsequent return to competitive cricket.
Harper made his T20 debut after he was scouted by the Melbourne Stars for the 6th edition of the Big Bash League in 2016. He threw away his opportunities with the bat, but impressed with his wicket-keeping skills last season, in the absence of regular keeper Peter Handscomb. As Handscomb is serving his national team for the Ashes, Harper is set to be the first-choice keeper during the 7th edition of the BBL. However he needs to revamp his batting numbers if he wishes to consolidate his position in the side.
Looking at the bigger picture, he needs to improve upon his first-class average of 16.30 after 8 matches. He hasn't batted enough in the first-class level to identify any glaring loopholes in his game either. However, he is still very young at 21 years of age, and has enough time to analyze and work on his game. There is a rat-race in the Australian circuit to find a suitable long-term wicketkeeper for all formats. He has the essentials to be a good wicketkeeper batsman, with a conventional wicket-keeping technique and good reflexes and his stroke-making skills with the bat are exemplary. He yet to make make a mark with the bat at the first-class level however, and needs a consistently heavy-scoring run with the bat in Shield cricket to bring him into reckoning for the coveted Baggy Green.
Interesting Facts
Harper is an enthusiastic golfer (a glimpse of which can be seen in his enormous bat swing)
He also studies - wait for it - teaching at university.
By Rishi Roy
As of December 2017
