A brute force, left handed wicket keeper batsman Chris Hartley made his mark when he outshone Matthew Hayden as the only other player to score a century on state debut, which he did against South Australia in the calendar year 2003-04.

Nicknamed 'Hannibal’, Hartley was drafted into the Australian A squad to tour Pakistan in 2005, in place of the retired Wade Seccombe and injured Brad Haddin. However his form dipped and he was replaced by Graham Manou as the second keeper to tour England in the Ashes tour. In the 2005-06 season, he hit 401 runs in the Pura cup. Chris has the unique distinction of being only the second wicket keeper after Brad Haddin to amass 800 runs in a Shield campaign and also pouched 43 catches and a stumping.

In 2011, Hartley was signed up to play for Brisbane Heat in the KFC Big Bash League.