Harris was overrated in New Zealand tbh. I only say that because, while he may have been a bit of an oddity to overseas fans, he was seen as a real legend here during his pomp (I feel like that impression may have faded a bit over the years).
His batting record (moderate average and strike rate despite many not outs) accurately captures the fact that he wasn't as much of a "late innings saviour" as he gained the reputation of being. His strike rate was pretty bad even for the era he played in. Certainly this reflects the fact that he was able to marshal the tail with slow but important innings at times, but also that he was mostly pretty ineffective when asked to play other roles (or to play as a genuine batsman generally).
Definitely a case of a number of good knocks against Australia boosting his image a lot.
Likewise as a bowler, he was ok but his record accurately reflects that he wasn't *that* miserly for the era, and wasn't much of a wicket taker either. The real MVP in that era was Gavin Larsen, who really was consistently economical. Harris was a serviceable middle overs bowler who also added to the batting, which was more than enough to get him in the team, but not enough to make him the gun all-rounder he was perceived as for several years in NZ.
tbh while seen as a scrapper, I still reckon he underachieved as a batsman, albeit he dramatically overachieved as a bowler. I would love to know how he ever got a look in as a bowler coming through the grades in the first place.
