Marcus Harris’s avalanche of runs in the English cricket summer may not have been enough to earn him a Test squad recall but the Australian has been handed a big new challenge as captain of his struggling county side Lancashire.
The 32-year-old left-hander’s tremendous form in England has resulted in him being the most prolific run-scorer in the country in 2025, having amassed 749 from just 10 innings at an average of 83.22.
But Lancashire have been struggling despite his efforts, with their former England batter Keaton Jennings resigning as captain, and the club have turned to Harris on an interim basis to lead a revival with the club sitting bottom of the second division of the championship.
The Red Rose were relegated from the top division last season but, as one of the powerhouse counties in the English game, were expected to go back up this year, only to have failed to win a single one of their first five matches in 2025.
Harris, asked to take over temporarily, becomes the third Australian Test batter to take the helm of a second-division county this English summer, with Peter Handscomb leading the table-topping Leicestershire and Cameron Bancroft steering one-from-bottom Gloucestershire.
Josh Bohannon will be Harris’s back-up as vice-captain and there’s the intriguing prospect that 42-year-old England pace legend James Anderson could be back in a key role this week when Lancashire take on Derbyshire at Old Trafford.
Lancashire’s director of cricket performance Mark Chilton said: “We hope that the change in captaincy will allow Keaton to concentrate fully on his batting and take some weight off his shoulders.
“Marcus will provide an alternative perspective to leadership – and although relatively new to the group – he has worked with (coach) Dale (Benkenstein) before (at Gloucestershire), and everyone has seen his impact on the team’s performance in the first five games of this season.
“We are also hopeful James Anderson can get back on the field adding vast experience and leadership into the side.”
