A leg fracture curtailed Jarman's football career and he turned to umpiring while concentrating on cricket. He made his first-class cricket debut on 16 December 1955 for South Australia against New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval, scoring 14 and nine and taking three catches.
Fourteen months and seven first-class matches later he was selected in the Australian team touring New Zealand, where he played in the unofficial Test series. Jarman was then selected as one of two wicket keepers for the tour of South Africa in 1957/58 but was overlooked in favour of Wally Grout, who then became Australia's first choice wicket keeper.