Sydney record-breaker lands first state deal as Blues lock in squad

Harjas Singh, the hard-hitting left-hander who clubbed a record-breaking triple-century in Sydney first-grade last October, has earned his maiden state contract after being added to the NSW men's list for next season.

Singh, who top scored for Australia in their Under-19 World Cup final triumph over India in 2024, has secured a rookie deal with the Blues, one of two additions to their 28-player squad for 2026-27 alongside discarded WA paceman Bryce Jackson.

NSW men's squad for 2026-27: Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (CA), Joel Davies, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood (CA), Ryan Hicks, Bryce Jackson, Riley Kingsell, Sam Konstas, Nathan Lyon (CA), Nic Maddinson, Jack Nisbet, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Will Salzmann, Tanveer Sangha, Lachlan Shaw, Steve Smith (CA), Mitchell Starc (CA), Charlie Stobo, Adam Zampa (CA). Rookies: Charlie Anderson, Jake Scott, Harjas Singh

 

Ins: Bryce Jackson (WA), Harjas Singh, Riley Kingsell (upgraded rookie), Ryan Hicks (upgraded rookie)

 

Outs: Matthew Gilkes (SA), Blake Nikitaras, Chris Tremain (retired)

NSW confirmed the signing of Jackson on Monday, who was the leading fast bowler in last season's One-Day Cup with 15 wickets at an average of 22.13 and strengthens the Blues' pace stocks following the retirement of Chris Tremain.

"This is an exciting time for the Blues, with an opportunity for our stable playing group to build further momentum and compete strongly across both formats," said NSW high performance manager Greg Mail.

"We're also pleased to welcome Bryce Jackson to our program. Bryce's white ball record is excellent, and he adds pace and depth to our bowling attack."

Having previously expressed his disappointment at not receiving a NSW contract last year, Singh went to work at his Premier club Western Suburbs, banging the door down with 1,193 runs averaging more than 60 last season.

He finished the summer as the leading run scorer in Sydney first grade across all three formats.

The highlight was undoubtedly his 314 from 142 balls in a one-day match against Sydney Cricket Club, belting a NSW Premier Cricket record 35 sixes in an innings where none of his teammates scored more than 37.

The knock was the highest individual score in a 50-over match in NSW Premier Cricket and the third highest overall in the competition's history behind Victor Trumper (335) and Phil Jaques (321).

Singh, who was part of the Sydney Sixers' squad in KFC BBL|15 as a replacement player, said not receiving a NSW contract last year "fueled the fire" for his performances in the 2025-26 season. He said he worked hard on the mental side of his game, including his breathing to help regulate his nervous system to remain calmer in the heat of the moment.

"How do I focus on what I do from a Monday to Friday point-of-view rather than what is going to happen on the weekend, so that was a big mental shift … to prepare the best I can," he told the Unplayable Podcast after his triple ton.

"There was (also) a lot of power-hitting that I worked quite hard on with my coach Darius (Visser) at Hype Cricket Academy and I worked closely with my coach Mick Reynolds at on the technical side of the game."

Singh joins his former U19 World Cup winning teammate Sam Konstas in the Blues squad, who returns to a NSW contract next season after losing his national deal with Jake Weatherald replacing him as Test opener for the Ashes.

Fast bowler Charlie Anderson and wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Hicks are the other members of that Australian U19 team on the NSW roster, with the latter upgraded from a rookie deal to a full contract for next season.

Hicks played four Sheffield Shield matches last season after making his first-class debut against Queensland in round three, scoring a half-century opening the batting against Tasmania in November.

Right-armer Anderson played two one-dayers for NSW last season and also made his first-class debut in February, taking two wickets in the second innings against the Tigers in Hobart after coming in mid-match as an injury replacement for Jack Edwards.

Meanwhile, Jackson had been a standout for WA in the 50-over format over the past two seasons, even playing three one-day matches for Australia A last winter against Sri Lanka A. He took 4-40 in his last match for WA in February to take his List A tally to 34 wickets at 20.79 in 14 matches.

But the 26-year-old right-armer was unable to break into their Sheffield Shield side despite the likes of Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Joel Paris and Matt Kelly missing periods through injury, and heads to NSW chasing greater opportunity in red-ball cricket.

Opening batter Blake Nikitaras drops off the NSW list after losing his spot in the Shield side after two games last season, while Matthew Gilkes has moved to South Australia where he will compete with Harry Nielsen for the back-up keeping role behind Test gloveman Alex Carey.

Top order batter Riley Kingsell, who last year became the youngest player to score a double-century in NSW first-grade, has also secured an upgrade to a full contract for next season.

NSW enter the 2026-27 as the reigning Dean Jones Trophy holders after upsetting Tasmania in the one-day final in Hobart, but they finished second last in the Sheffield Shield, with new head coach Brad Haddin given a mandate from CEO Lee Germon to "win titles and produce Australian players".