Of all his fellow squash professionals, Del Harris boasts the longest unbroken presence in the PSA World Rankings. His first appearance was in November 1984, aged 15 years old, at 83 - almost two years ahead of Jansher Khan's debut at 134 in August 1986! He made his top 50 debut at 31 in May 1988 (by which time Jansher had already reached No1), and immediately rose to 20 in the next ranking list (July 88). Four months later, in November 1988, he reached the top ten at No 10, then slumped to as low as 32 (in January 94) before reviving his fortunes to achieve his highest career position of No5 in March 1996. 

1995 provided two notable highlights for the former World Junior Champion and twice British National Champion: He reached the final of the Detjen World Open in Cyprus as No8 seed, concluding a magnificent run by battling with Jansher Khan in the best tour final of the year, but eventually yielding the World title 15-10 17-14 16-17 15-8. Then, spurred on by this success, he joined compatriots Simon Parke, Chris Walker and Mark Chaloner in the England squad which won the World Team title in Egypt for the first time. 

One of the sport's great crowd-pullers, Harris made a brilliant start to his 1996 season, in which he joined the select group who can boast triumphs over the supreme eight-times world champion Jansher Khan - but later struggled again with injury to turn in a mixed year. 

It was on the Perspex court in March, in a shopping centre in Hatfield, England, that Harris scored his most memorable victory of the year - beating Jansher in the pool rounds before going on to upset world No3 Brett Martin in a thrilling five-game climax of the Super Series Finals. 

The Essex player's British followers dreamed of a similar outcome in the British Open which followed shortly afterwards, but 'Del Boy' was being troubled by a groin injury aggravated during the Hatfield finals and slumped to a 3-2 first round defeat toWelsh qualifier Alex Gough in front of his home crowds in Cardiff. 

Results in his injury-affected year were not sufficient to enable him to qualify for the 1996 Super Series Finals in March 1997, thereby to defend his title - though he competed in February's Val de Loire event in France, beating young Australian Dan Jenson in straight games to reach the semi-finals where he lost in four games to the eventual winner Jonathon Power of Canada. 

Jenson, however, was to gain his revenge in the British Open the following month in Cardiff - they met in the second round after Harris overcame Pakistan's Zarak Jahan Khan in the first round, and the unseeded Australian dismissed Del's England team-mate Simon Parke, the 4th seed, on the adjacent court. Their confrontation was a spectacular display of breathtaking squash, a titanic 108-minute battle in which Harris squandered a two-games-to-one lead and two match-balls, before submitting 15/5 12/15 10/15 15/14 17/14 to the talented top 20 newcomer. 

The remainder of Harris' year was plagued by injury - and Canadians! He reached his seeded position in the quarter-finals of Egypt's spectacular Al- Ahram International, staged by the pyramids in Giza, near Cairo, only to have to retire with severe stomach pains when 2-0 down against Peter Nicol. Thereafter, his progress was repeatedly halted by Canadians - in the last eight of both the Hong Kong and US Opens by Jonathon Power; in the semi-finals of the Egyptian Open, again in a 3-0 scoreline, by Power; and in the first rounds of both the World Open and Qatar International, by Toronto's world top 30 player Graham Ryding. 

For Harris and his 97 World Team Championships' team-mates, however, the ultimate success against Power and Ryding was to be realised in November, when England successfully defended their title in the biennial event, beating Canada in the final in Malaysia. 

Injuries continued to beset Harris, however. A fractured wrist sustained in Qatar led to his withdrawal from the Mahindra International in December, and, in January 98, the British National Championships. Injury came to his aid in February, however, when Power's withdrawal from the Super Series Finals (due to an ankle ailment) opened the door for ninth placed Harris to make his comeback after his enforced three-month break. After pool losses to Nicol, Parke, and Eyles, he beat Anthony Hill in straight games to secure seventh place. 

Signs of a return to form and fitness were promised when he reached the final of the Hungarian Open in Budapest in March, losing in four games to his improving compatriot Paul Johnson. It was perhaps short-lived, as he again failed to live up to his promise in April's British Open, falling in the opening round for the second time in three years to a Welsh qualifier, David Evans. Remarkably, not since 1991 has Harris progressed beyond the event's second round. 

1999 saw the long-awaited return of Del's form - which in August, shortly after he had celebrated his 30th birthday, led to his first PSA Tour title since winning the Super Series finals in March 96. Seeded one, he swept through the field of the Regatas Open in Peru, to beat France's Julien Bonetat 17-16 15-4 15-10 in the final in Lima. In November he exceeded his seeding by reaching the semi-finals of the Pakistan Open in Karachi, where he lost to the host country's defending champion Amjad Khan in four games. 

He began his 2000 campaign in the USA in fine style, reaching the finals of both the Apawamis and Greenwich Opens against the seeding. In the former he beat compatriots Mark Chaloner and Chris Walker before losing to fellow Englishman Nick Taylor in the remarkable scoreline 15-9 9-15 15-9 9-15 15-9, then in Greenwich he gained his revenge over Amjad Khan in the last eight before going on to lose to Australia's Joseph Kneipp in the final. 

This impressive return to the exciting form which has been Del's trademark for so many years led to his leap back into the world top ten in the February rankings - and the promise that there is much more to come from Del Harris in the new millennium.

23.3.00 
Del Harris is one of the sport's most charismatic characters. His fans worldwide will hope that 1998 will be the year in which he finally realises his true potential.