Neil Harvey

Robert Neil Harvey (born 8 October 1928) is an Australian former cricketer who was a member of the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. An attacking left-handed batsman, sharp fielder and occasional off-spin bowler, Harvey was the senior batsman in the Australian team for much of the 1950s and was regarded by Wisden as the finest fielder of his era. Upon his retirement, Harvey was the second-most prolific Test run-scorer and century-maker for Australia.

One of six cricketing brothers, four of whom represented Victoria, Harvey followed his elder brother Merv into Test cricket and made his debut in January 1948, aged 19 and three months. In his second match, he became the youngest Australian to score a Test century, a record that still stands. Harvey was the youngest member of the 1948 Invincibles of Don Bradman to tour England, regarded as one of the finest teams in history. After initially struggling in English conditions, he made a century on his Ashes debut. Harvey started his career strongly, with six centuries in his first thirteen Test innings at an average over 100, including four in 1949–50 against South Africa, including a match-winning 151 not out on a sticky wicket. As Bradman's team broke up in the 1950s due to retirements, Harvey became Australia's senior batsman, and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1954, in recognition of his feat in scoring more than 2,000 runs during the 1953 tour of England.

In 1957, Harvey was passed over for the captaincy and was named as the deputy of Ian Craig, who had played just six matches, as Australia sought to rebuild the team with a youth policy following a decline in the team. Craig later offered to demote himself due to poor form, but Harvey prevented him from doing so. At any rate, Craig fell ill the following season, but Harvey had moved interstate, so Richie Benaud was promoted to the captaincy ahead of him. Harvey continued in the deputy's role until the end of his career, but he was captain for only one Test match. In the Second Test at Lord's in 1961, when Benaud was injured, Harvey led the team in the "Battle of the Ridge" on an erratic surface, grinding out a hard-fought victory. Only Bradman had scored more runs and centuries for Australia at the time of Harvey's retirement. Harvey was best known for his extravagant footwork and flamboyant stroke play, as well as his fielding. Harvey was particularly known for his innings in conditions unfavourable to batting, performing when his colleagues struggled, such as his 151 not out in Durban, his 92 not out in Sydney in 1954–55, and his 96 on the matting in Dhaka. In retirement, he became a national selector for twelve years but in recent times is best known for his strident criticism of modern cricket. In 2000, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in and selected in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century. In 2009, Harvey was one of the 55 inaugural inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Early years

Harvey was the fifth of six boys born to Horace Harvey. Despite his small build, Harvey was born large, weighing in at .Robinson, p. 258. The family lived in Broken Hill, where Horace was a miner, before moving to Sydney, and finally to Melbourne in 1926, where they settled in the inner northern industrial suburb of Fitzroy. There the six boys were taught cricket under the guidance of their father. In conditions conducive to producing batsmen rather than bowlers, they played cricket using a tennis ball on cobblestones or a marble rebounding from the backyard pavement. The boys went to George Street State School and Falconer Street Central School.Mallett, p. 170. Cricket and cricket talk was an integral part of the daily family life. Horace held the family batting record with 198 for Broken Hill, and continued to play in Melbourne club cricket. Harvey's eldest brother Merv went on to play one Test for Australia, while Mick and Ray both played for Victoria. All six brothers, the other two being Brian and Harold, also played for Fitzroy in district cricket. Except for Harold, all five represented Victoria in baseball.

Harvey played his first game aged nine as a wicket-keeper in the North Fitzroy Central School team, the average age of which was 14. In a school final, he once made 112 of the total of 140. Aged twelve, he joined the local Fitzroy club and rose to the first-grade team when he was fourteen. By this stage, he had transferred to Collingwood Technical School. On the advice of the Victorian coach, Arthur Liddicut, Harvey stopped wicket-keeping to focus on his batting. Joe Plant, another Fitzroy veteran, also gave advice on batting. Both Liddicut and Plant identified Harvey's potential as a batsman. "What they liked about him was his modesty, his eagerness to pick up every point in the game, and his willingness to listen to the old hands." Briefly playing for Fitzroy Football Club, Harvey gave up the sport and played baseball during winter. After leaving school, Harvey worked as an apprentice fitter and turner for the Melbourne City Council. The apprenticeship was supposed to take three years, but it eventually took six years because Harvey's cricket career caused frequent absences.Haigh, p. 21.

First-class cricket had been cancelled during World War II and resumed in 1945–46. At the start of the season, Harvey was selected for a trial match. The Victorian state team played against the Rest of Victoria, and Harvey represented the latter. However, he made a duck in his only innings and was not selected for the senior state side during the season.

An aggressive 113 for Fitzroy against Melbourne Cricket Club in 1946–47 saw Harvey selected for the Victorian team at the age of 18. He made 18 in his only innings during his first-class debut against Tasmania. In the next match against Tasmania, Harvey made his maiden first-class century, scoring 154. He said that his effort was inspired by elder brother Merv, who gained Test selection in the same year.

At the time, Tasmania was not part of Sheffield Shield, and Harvey made his Shield debut against New South Wales. He was dismissed without scoring in the first innings before making 49 in the second innings in an emphatic 298-run win over their arch-rivals. Victoria went on to win the title convincingly.

His next match for Victoria was against Wally Hammond's English tourists. After the fall of three early wickets, Harvey joined captain Lindsay Hassett. He dominated a partnership of 120, making 69 in his second match against the guileful leg spin of Doug Wright. His opponents had no doubt that he would become a Test player. English wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans congratulated him by proclaiming "We'll be seeing you in England next year or Australia's 1948 tour of that country. He ended his debut first-class season with 304 runs at 50.66.

Test debut

In 1947–48, Harvey played in two Shield matches with his brothers Merv and Ray. Merv had already gained Test selection, but soon Neil was attracting more attention. In the opening match of the season, Harvey struck 87 against the touring Indian cricket team. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the Indians before the Tests in what was effectively a dress rehearsal. He made 32 in the first innings and was unbeaten on 56 in the second as the hosts succumbed for 203 and suffered a 47-run loss. Despite this, he was initially overlooked for the Tests. He reached 35 in each of his next five innings for Victoria, including two fifties.

Three months after his 19th birthday, Harvey made his entry into international cricket, in the last two Tests against India. He batted at No. 6 and made 13 in his only innings on debut in the Fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval as Australia swept to an innings victory. The selectors retained him for the Fifth Test on his home ground at Melbourne. After reaching stumps on 78, he reached his century the following day, 7 February 1948. His score of 153 after being promoted to No. 5 made him the youngest Australian Test centurion, surpassing Archie Jackson's previous record.Perry (2000), p. 228. He brought up the mark with an all run five, having turned a short ball from Lala Amarnath towards the square leg boundary.

The innings in replacing Bradman was taken to be symbolism of the fact that Harvey had been tipped to become Australia's leading batsman. His innings laid the foundations that secured Australia another innings victory and a 4–0 series triumph. It was only his 13th match at first-class level.

The innings ensured him a place on the 1948 tour of England. Speaking about Harvey's selection, Bradman opined "He has the brilliance and daring of youth, and the likelihood of rapid improvement." In the warm-up matches before the team headed to England, Harvey struck 104 against Tasmania and 79 against Western Australia. He had scored 733 runs at 52.36 for the season.

Australia traditionally fielded its first-choice team in the tour opener, which was customarily against Worcestershire. Despite scoring a century in Australia's most recent Test, Harvey was made 12th man and it appeared that he was not initially in Bradman's Test plans.

At first, Harvey struggled in the English conditions, failing to pass 25 in his first six innings. His most notable contribution in the early stages of the campaign was against Yorkshire in Bradford, on a damp pitch that suited slower bowling. The match saw 324 runs fall for 36 wickets. No sooner had Harvey walked out to bat, stand-in captain Lindsay Hassett was caught to leave Australia at 5/20 in pursuit of 60. To make matters worse, Sam Loxton was injured and could not bat, so Australia were effectively six wickets down and faced its first loss to an English county since 1912.Fingleton, p. 55. Harvey had scored a solitary run when he hit a ball to Len Hutton at short leg, who dived forwards and grabbed it with both hands before dropping it. Harvey then swept the next ball for a boundary. Colin McCool was out at 6/31 before Harvey and wicket-keeper Don Tallon steadied Australia. Harvey was reprieved on 12; he charged the bowling but the wicketkeeper fumbled the stumping opportunity. Harvey then hit the winning runs with a six over the sightscreen, ending unbeaten on 18 not out. It was the closest Australia had come to defeat for the whole tour.Fingleton, p. 56.

Due to his weak performances in the opening matches, Harvey was omitted for the match against the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's. The MCC fielded seven players who would represent England in the Tests, and were basically a full strength Test team, while Australia fielded their first-choice team and went on to win by an innings. The omission signified that Harvey was on the outer with regards to Test selection.

After asking Bradman about his difficulties, Harvey was told that these were caused by rash shot selection and a tendency to hit the ball in the air. Bradman said "He was technically perfect in his shot production. He was batting well enough and simply getting out early."

Harvey adapted his style and improved his performance. He scored 36 and 76 not out against Lancashire at Manchester and an unbeaten 100 at Hove against Sussex in only 115 minutes in the last match before the First Test. Former Australian Test batsman Jack Fingleton described Harvey's innings as "a superb century, rich in youthful daring and stroke production". However, this was not enough for selection and reserve opener Bill Brown batted out of position in the middle-order, as he had done against Worcestershire and the MCC. Harvey was the 12th man because of his fielding abilities, and spent a large proportion of time on the field due to an injury to pace spearhead Ray Lindwall.Fingleton, p. 96.

During the first two Tests, Brown struggled in his unfamiliar role, and he was dropped for the third. During the Third Test, opener Sid Barnes was injured, opening a vacancy for the Fourth Test at Headingley.

Harvey forced his way into the team with a scoring sequence of 49, 56, 43, 73* and 95.Perry (2002), p. 101. After Harvey hit 49 and 56 against Yorkshire, Fingleton opined that he "probably gained the respect of this most discerning crowd more quickly than any other cricketer in recent years". Harvey then scored 43 and 73 against Surrey and had taken a catch amongst a flock of pigeons. Australia wanted to finish the run-chase quickly so they could watch the Australian John Bromwich play in the Wimbledon tennis final. Harvey volunteered to play as a makeshift opener and promised Bradman that he would reach the target quickly. Australia chased down the target of 122 in just 58 minutes and 20.1 overs. Harvey ended unbeaten on 73 and the Australians arrived at Wimbledon on time.Fingleton, p. 196. He then added 95 against Gloucestershire, attacking the off spin of Tom Goddard.

After England had amassed 496 in the first innings, Australia had slumped to 3/68 with Bradman one of the dismissed batsmen. Harvey, the youngest member of the squad, joined cavalier all-rounder Keith Miller. Australia were more than 400 behind and if England were to remove the pair, they would expose Australia's lower order and give themselves an opportunity to take a large first innings lead. Upon arriving in the middle, Miller greeted him cheerfully and said to Harvey, "OK, mate, get up the other end. I'll take the bowling for a while until you get yourself organised." Harvey said, "Mate, that will do me." I couldn't get up the other end quick enough. I watched him play a few overs and I thought, "This is good", and then they brought Laker on to bowl. The third and the fifth balls of Laker's over disappeared over my head, on the way up, and they both finished in the crowd for six. . . . I can honestly thank Keith Miller for the confidence he gave me during our partnership . . . and it did so much for my future cricket career."

The pair launched a counterattack, with Miller taking the lead and shielding Harvey from Jim Laker, as the young batsman was struggling against the off breaks that were turning away from him.Fingleton, p. 162. Miller then hit a series of boundaries against Laker. This allowed Australia to seize the initiative, with Harvey joining the counterattack during the next over, hitting consecutive boundaries against Laker, the second of which almost cleared the playing area.Fingleton, p. 163. By the time Miller was out for 58,Perry, p. 246. the partnership had yielded 121 runs in 90 minutes, and was likened by ''Wisden'' to a "hurricane". Fingleton said that he had never "known a more enjoyable hour" of "delectable cricket".

Loxton came in at 4/189 to join Harvey, who continued to attack the bowling, unperturbed by Miller's demise. Australia went to lunch on the third day at 4/204, with Harvey on 70.Fingleton, p. 164.

After lunch, Harvey accelerated after the second new ball was taken, and 80 minutes into the middle session, reached his century to a loud reception as Australia passed 250. Harvey's knock had taken 177 minutes and included 14 fours.Fingleton, p. 165. The partnership yielded 105 in only 95 minutes. Harvey was eventually out for 112 from 183 balls, bowled by Laker while playing a cross-batted sweep. His shot selection prompted Bradman to throw his head back in disappointment.Fingleton, p. 166. Harvey ended as the first Australian left-hander to score a century on his Ashes debut, in an innings noted for powerful driving on both sides of the wicket. The innings and the high rate of scoring helped to swing the match into a balanced position when Australia were finally dismissed for 458. In the second innings, Harvey took two noted catches, including one where he bent over to catch the ball at ankle height while running. Fingleton said that it "was the catch of the season—or, indeed, would have been had Harvey not turned on several magnificent aerial performances down at The Oval gainst Surrey.Fingleton, p. 170.Fingleton, p. 172.

On the final afternoon, Harvey was at the crease and got off the mark by hitting the winning boundary in the second innings as Australia successfully completed a Test world record run chase of 3/404 in less than one day. He had only one more innings in the series, scoring 17 in the Fifth and final Test at The Oval where Australia won by an innings. Harvey added centuries in consecutive matches after the Tests against Somerset and the South of England. In the entire first-class tour, he scored four centuries to aggregate 1129 runs at 53.76. Harvey was an acrobatic fielder, regarded as the best in the Australian team. Fingleton said that Harvey was "by far the most brilliant fieldsman of both sides, who was to save many runs in the field". He was twelfth man in the early Tests because of his fielding and he took several acclaimed catches throughout the tour.

Consolidation

No international matches were scheduled for the 1948–49 Australian season, and Harvey had a disappointing first-class season, scoring only 539 runs at 33.68. He scored 72 and 75 in Victoria's totals of 165 and 197 as they lost to arch-rivals New South Wales by 88 runs, but his only other score beyond 50 was an 87 for Lindsay Hassett's XI in a Test trial at the end of the season. Nevertheless, the selectors persisted with him for the 1949–50 tour of South Africa.Perry (2002), p. 102.

Harvey was forced to shoulder more responsibility in the batting order now that Bradman had retired and Sid Barnes took an extended break. The youngest player in the team, Harvey rose to the challenge by establishing several Australian records. His Test figures of 660 at 132.00 was the most runs on a Test tour of South Africa by a visiting batsman, surpassing Len Hutton's previous mark by 83 runs, as were his 1,526 first-class runs at 76.30 and eight centuries on tour. His eight first-class centuries on one South African tour equalled the efforts of Denis Compton, Len Hutton and Arthur Morris.

Harvey started the tour well and was highly productive in seven first-class matches leading into the Tests. He scored 100 and 145 not out against North Eastern Transvaal and Orange Free State. There were two matches against a South African XI that were effectively dress rehearsals for the Tests. In the first, Harvey made 34 in an innings victory. He then made an even 100 in the second match, a week before the First Test. He had scored 480 runs at 60.00 in the matches leading up to the Tests.

After scoring 34 in the First Test at Johannesburg, Harvey amassed 178 in the first innings of the Second Test at Cape Town, which set up a first innings lead of 248 runs. He then scored 23 not out to guide Australia to an eight-wicket victory in the second innings. This was followed by an unbeaten 151 in five and a half hours at Durban, regarded as one of his finest Test innings. Having been dismissed for 75 on a wet wicket in the first innings, Australia had slumped to 3/59 in pursuit of a victory target of 336. On a crumbling, sticky pitch, the Australians were having extreme difficulty with the spin of Hugh Tayfield and faced their first Test defeat against South Africa for 39 years. Despite a few square cuts,Haigh, p. 14. Harvey adapted his game to play a patient innings, prompting heckling from spectators for the first time in his career. On 40, a ball from Tufty Mann broke through his defence and Harvey thought himself bowled, only to see that the ball had goven for byes. However, Mann and Tayfield began to tire in the heat and Harvey began to score more quickly, reaching 50 in 137 minutes by the lunch break.Haigh, p. 15. He registered his slowest ever century on his way to guiding his team to an improbable victory by five wickets.Robinson, p. 259. Harvey brought up the winning runs by clipping a ball from Mann to the midwicket boundary.

Harvey continued his productive sequence in the Fourth Test in Johannesburg, scoring an unbeaten 56 and 100 in a drawn match. It was the first Test in which Harvey had played that Australia did not win. After scoring 100 not out against Griqualand West, Harvey finished the series with 116 in the Fifth Test at Port Elizabeth, as Australia won by an innings and took the series 4–0. He had amassed four centuries in consecutive Tests in the series and had scored six in his first nine Tests, totally 959 runs at 106.55. Harvey's fast scoring made him a crowd favourite and marketing drawcard in South Africa. When Harvey was rested for a tour match in East London, media complaints prompted Australian selectors to reverse their decision. He finished the season with 55 in an Australian total of 55 before the tourists dismissed a South African XI for 49 and 90 to complete an innings victory.

Harvey's triple figure average from his first two Test seasons could not be maintained when Australia hosted the 1950–51 Ashes series. Following his success in South Africa, Harvey played regularly at either the No. 3 or No. 4 from that point onwards. He managed 362 runs at 40.22 with three half centuries as Australia took the series 4–1. Harvey had trouble with Alec Bedser's in-swingers in the early part of the series and Bedser was the only Englishman to dismiss Harvey in the first three Tests. On the first day of the series, Harvey top-scored with 74 out of Australia's 228. It turned out to be crucial as rain created a sticky wicket; England made 7/68 and Australia 7/32, both declared. Australia went on to win by 70 runs. The Second Test in Melbourne was also low scoring; Harvey made 42 and 31 as Australia won after neither team passed 200. He performed steadily through the series, with 39, 43 and 68 in the next two Tests, which were both won. He then made one and 52 in the Fifth Test defeat; it was the first in his 14 Tests and Australia's first since World War II and came on his home ground in Melbourne. Outside the Tests, Harvey scored 141 in a win over South Australia and then added 146 in the second innings of a match against New South Wales to stave off defeat. He ended the season with 1099 runs at 45.79.

The 1951–52 season was less productive, with the West Indies touring Australia. Playing in all five Tests, Harvey scored 261 runs at 26.10 with one half century as Australia won 4–1. Harvey had difficulties in dealing with the dual spin bowling combination of Alf Valentine and Sonny Ramadhin, who bowled left arm orthodox and leg spin respectively and accounted for him six times in the Tests. His only fifty was an 83 in the first innings of the Fourth Test in Melbourne. Australia went on to complete a dramatic one-wicket victory. Harvey had a poor season overall, scoring only 551 first-class runs at 32.41 without managing a single century.

Peak years

Harvey started the 1952–53 season without a first-class century in more than 18 months and in three matches ahead of the Tests, suffered two defeats and was yet to break his drought.

Having failed to score a century in ten Tests and almost three years, the season saw Harvey at his productive best as South Africa, whom he had scored four centuries against three years earlier, toured Australia. On a slow pitch difficult for stroke play, Harvey scored 109 and 52 in Brisbane where Australia grounded out a victory in the First Test. He top-scored in the first innings and was the second top-score (run out) in the second.Haigh, p. 327.

Such was his performance in the series that his scores of 11 and 60 in the Second Test, top-scoring in the second innings, were his worst, as Australia lost their first Test to South Africa for 42 years.

He then top-scored with 190 in the Third Test in Sydney to set up a large first innings lead of 270 and an innings victory. Harvey alone made more than his opponents in the first innings and the innings saw him complete 1000 Test runs against the South Africans in only eight Tests. Harvey made it consecutive centuries in as many matches, with 84 and 116 in Adelaide. Starting with an on-driven boundary off the first ball of the last day's play, Harvey's century took 106 minutes and was the fastest record in the Australia since World War II and the sixth fastest of all time in Australia. With leading pacemen Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller breaking down in the match, Harvey bowled for only the third time in his Test career. He took his first of three wickets at Test level, that of Russell Endean as a depleted Australian attack could not defeat the visitors who finished seven wickets down.Pollard, p. 61.

As the series 2–1 in Australia's favour and not yet won, the Fifth Test in Melbourne was a timeless Test. Harvey compiled his third consecutive century and highest Test score of 205 as Australia amassed 520 in the first innings. This put Australia in control of the Test, despite South Africa successfully chasing an unlikely target of 295. Harvey accumulated 834 Test runs at 92.66 in the series. This surpassed Bradman's aggregate of 806 runs in 1931–32 as a series record against South Africa.Perry, p. 229. In ten Tests against South Africa, he had eight centuries, totalling 1494 runs at an average of 106.71.

Harvey totalled 1,659 runs at 63.81 for the season, the second highest tally for a season in Australian history, just 31 runs behind Bradman's record. In the last four matches of the season, he scored 95, 148, 49, 81 and 48 to come within striking distance. In the last match of the season, Western Australian captain Wally Langdon declared early on the last afternoon to allow Harvey another innings so he could break the record. However, Harvey muttered "I wouldn't want to break a record that way" and managed only 13.

In 1953 he became only the third Australian in a quarter of a century to score 2,000 runs on an Ashes tour. Bradman (three times) and Stan McCabe were the others. He made 2,040 at 65.80 and his ten centuries were twice that of the next best in the side.

Harvey started the first-class campaign with an unbeaten 202 against Leicestershire, setting up an innings victory. After reaching 25 in each of the next four innings without converting any starts into a score beyond 66, Harvey rectified this in the two weeks before the Tests started.

He struck 109 against the Minor Counties, 103 against Lancashire, 82 and 137 not out against Sussex and 109 against Hampshire. His 109 against Minor Counties was only nine less than the entire opposition managed in two innings, and he had scored 540 runs in four completed innings in 14 days.

Harvey was not at his best in the five Tests. In the 11 innings leading up to the Tests, Harvey's lowest score was 14, and he had only failed to pass 30 twice. However, in the First Test at Trent Bridge, Harvey had a duck and two and falling twice to Bedser as Australia hung on for a draw in a rain-affected contest. After scoring 69 against Yorkshire, Harvey made 59 and 21 in the Second Test at Lord's, again falling to Bedser in both innings. Some tenacious batting in the second innings saw the hosts save the match with three wickets in hand.

Harvey returned to form by striking 141 against Gloucestershire before taking 3/9, his first three-wicket haul at first-class level, to help Australia take a nine-wicket win. He added a second century in as many innings with 118 in an innings win over Northamptonshire. Harvey then struck 122 in the rain affected Third Test at Manchester; he helped Australia take a 42-run first innings lead, but was out for a duck in the second innings. Australia collapsed to 8/35 and were saved from defeat by the rain, which meant that less than 14 hours of play was possible.Haigh, p. 328.

Harvey then returned to Headingley, the venue of his famous innings five years earlier. In a low-scoring match, he top-scored for the entire match with 71 in the first innings as Australia took a 99-run lead. The tourists looked set for victory and retention of The Ashes at the start of the final day, but time-wasting and defiant defence from the English batsmen left Australia a target of 177 in the last two hours. This would have required a scoring rate much higher than in the first four days of the match.Haigh, p. 79. Harvey quickly scored 34 at a run a minute, and Australia had made 111 in 75 minutes and were on schedule for a win. At that point, English medium-pacer Trevor Bailey began bowling with the wicket-keeper more than two metres down the leg side to deny the Australians an opportunity to hit the ball, but the umpires did not penalise them as wides. The match ended in a draw, and Harvey described Bailey's tactics as "absolutely disgusting". English wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans said that the tourists "were absolutely livid" and he sympathised with them, saying that "they were right" in claiming that Bailey's bowling was "the worst kind of negative cricket" and that he had "cheated hemof victory".Haigh, p. 80.

With the series locked at 0–0, the fate of The Ashes would be determined in the Fifth and final Test at The Oval. In the lead-up, Harvey scored 113 and 180 in consecutive innings against Surrey and Glamorgan, before failing to pass single figures in his next three innings before the deciding match.

Harvey made 36 as Australia made 275 batting first. England then took a 31-run lead and Harvey was out for only one in the second innings as the hosts won the Ashes 1–0 after 19 years in Australian hands. Harvey scored 346 runs at 34.60 for the series; in a low-scoring series, this placed him second behind captain Lindsay Hassett (365 runs at 36.50). Harvey failed to pass 41 in the four first-class matches remaining after the Tests. With the retirement of Hassett at the end of the season, Harvey was to bear more responsibility in the batting line-up. In recognition of his performances during the summer, during which he scored 2040 runs at 65.40, he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. The next highest Australian aggregate and average was 1433 at 51.17 by Miller, and the second most prolific centurymaker was Hassett with five.

Harvey returned to Australia and played in the 1953–54 season, which was purely domestic. He scored 639 runs at 42.60, including a century against New South Wales and four fifties. He had a few near-misses during the season; he scored 97 against Queensland in two matches and made 88 against South Australia.

The 1954–55 season saw England tour Australia, and Harvey scored 98 in three innings in warm-up matches against the visitors. He struck 162 in the First Test in Brisbane after Australia were sent in, helping to compile 8/601 to set up an innings victory. Between Tests, he scored 59 and 34 not out for Victoria against the Englishmen.

This was followed by a low scoring Second Test in Sydney when Australia were 4/77 needing 223 to win on a poor wicket against the lethal pace of Frank Tyson and Brian Statham

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