Harefield has made a major statement ahead of the 2025 season by signing rising New Zealand talent Gareth Severin.
Severin, currently on a professional contract with the Wellington Firebirds, has quickly established himself as a prominent wicket-keeper-batter in New Zealand.
Since making his debut in March 2023 for the Firebirds, he’s been in prolific form. In his first outing, he composed 80 against Auckland before producing a record 196 against Northern Districts in just his second appearance.
This continued into the 2023/24 season, where he scored 657 runs at an average of 46.92, including three centuries and five fifties.
In England, he has been a standout performer in the Kent League for Hayes, scoring over 3,000 runs at an average of 40.70 over the last three years. His best included 146 not out from 122 deliveries, chasing 228 in 44 overs. This has earned Severin opportunities to make regular appearances for Kent’s 2nd XI, continuing to hone his game at a high level.
“I’m really pleased to welcome Gareth to Harefield,” Croft says. He is a quality top-order batter and also a very good wicket-keeper. He has played for Wellington consistently over the last two seasons across all formats, so he brings plenty of professional experience. He has played with several of us before for the club cricket conference, so we know we are signing a good guy who should be a real asset both on and off the field.
Unfortunately, Sean Solia could not return to the club this year due to an injury in New Zealand. Croft said, “We would like to thank Sean for his professionalism last season and hope he is back on the field soon.”
And it’s not light on the news front for Harefield.
Nick Kelly, who was Harefield’s overseas in 2022 and 2023, has been called up to the New Zealand national side. The 31-year-old has been one of the standout batters on the domestic game, with 1,307 runs across all three formats and topping the run charts in this year’s Plunket Shield with 749 runs, including four centuries.
His leadership as Firebirds captain and his performances at the top of the order have played a key part in Harefield’s recent success.
As the captain said, “We know we are signing a really good guy who should be a real asset both on and off the field.”
With silverware ambitions on the horizon, Harefield’s 2025 campaign became much more exciting.
