Harry Evans — One of Gordon's Finest

Some players take time to find their feet in First Grade cricket. Harry Evans took a little longer than most — but when he did, he became one of the most prolific run-scorers in Gordon's long history.

Born on 14 January 1990, Harry first appeared for Gordon in the AW Green Shield (Under 16) competition in 2004-05, scoring 358 runs at 39.78 across two seasons. He went on to play five seasons in the Poidevin-Gray Shield, accumulating 840 runs at 36.52 — fourth on Gordon's all-time list for that competition — before making his grade debut in 2006-07.

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His early seasons in the grades told a familiar story of a talented player finding his level. Harry thrived in Second Grade, scoring 502 runs at 35.86 in 2008-09 and an outstanding 623 runs at 44.50 the following season, but struggled when given opportunities in First Grade, managing only modest returns in eleven innings across those two years. It would have been easy for selectors to lose patience. They didn't, and it proved to be the right call.

From 2011-12 onwards, Harry Evans in First Grade was a different proposition entirely. Over the next six seasons — interrupted only by two years playing in Tasmania — he averaged 43.97 from 114 innings, scoring ten centuries and 23 fifties. The numbers across those years are remarkable: 664, 715, 834, 866, 785 and 807 runs in successive First Grade seasons. Three times he exceeded 800 runs in a season, and five times he passed 700 — records that place him above every other Gordon batsman in history for both milestones.

His best individual seasons were 2013-14, when he scored 834 runs at 55.60 including three centuries, and 2014-15, when he made 866 runs at 50.94. His highest score of 170 not out came in that purple patch, and he finished his career with four scores above 150 — second only to the legendary Charlie Macartney, who managed eight. To find batsmen above Harry on Gordon's all-time career average list, you have to go back to Macartney (48.10) and Charles Kelleway (45.88). Harry sits third among all Gordon players who have scored more than 3,000 First Grade runs, at 41.09.

He was more than just a batsman, too. While Harry had kept wickets as a junior, he didn't bowl in his first four seasons of grade cricket. When he did take it up, he proved a capable contributor — finishing with 85 First Grade wickets at 23.49, including an exceptional 35 wickets at 15.23 in 2012-13 alone.

A brief stint representing the NSW Futures League (Second Eleven) yielded modest returns — 323 runs at 24.85 across thirteen innings — and it is hard not to wonder what might have been had he translated his prolific club form to that level. Selection in the NSW state side remained elusive, perhaps the one chapter missing from an otherwise outstanding story.

Harry moved to England in December 2019 at the age of 30, bringing his Gordon career to a close. He had already scored 7, 027 runs at 39.70 across all grades, with twelve centuries and 37 fifties. In First Grade alone, he finished with 5,503 runs from 134 innings.

For those who watched him through those six brilliant seasons, Harry Evans was simply one of the best batsmen to have represented this Club. The records confirm it, but the memory of him in full flow on a good day at Chatswood Oval tells the story just as well.