.jpg) Harris in 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Paul Lee Harris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-11-02)2 November 1978 (age 47) Salisbury,Rhodesia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Harro, Harri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 301) | 2 January 2007 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 2 January 2011 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 91) | 9 March 2008 v Bangladesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 14 March 2008 v Bangladesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Western Province | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Northerns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Warwickshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2010 | Titans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Lions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:CricketArchive,6 February 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Lee Harris (born 2 November 1978) is aZimbabwean born former South Africancricketer who playedTest cricket as aleft-arm orthodoxspin bowler for theSouth African team between 2007 and 2011. He has also played domestic cricket forNortherns,Titans,Western Province andWarwickshire.
Harris was born atSalisbury inRhodesia (nowZimbabwe) where his father Mark was a member of theBritish South Africa Police until 1980.[1] As a young child he moved with his family to South Africa and was brought up inFish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa.[2][3] His father is a pastor in the Fish Hoek area.[1]
Harris lives in Olympus,Pretoria, with his wife Marilet.[4]
While playing for Fish Hoek High School Harris was spotted by Western Province coachDuncan Fletcher who brought him into the provincial underage system.[5] At Western Province Harris played alongside then-futureEngland playerJonathan Trott.[6]
Harris made his first-class cricket debut for Western Province B in 1998 in an UCB Bowl match against Eastern Province B inPort Elizabeth.[7] It took over two years for Harris to play another first-class match. Due to intense competition for spinning roles, withPaul Adams andClaude Henderson being preferred over Harris, he only played two matches for Western Province, in March 2001 and February 2002.[8]
After the 2001–02 cricket season, Harris transferred toNortherns. With the restructuring of South African domestic cricket in 2004 Harris played for theTitans in theSuperSport Series while continuing to play occasionally for Northerns in theSouth African Airways Provincial Challenges.[8]
During the2006 English cricket season, he joined Warwickshire under theKolpak ruling afterNew Zealand spinnerDaniel Vettori was injured.[9] He immediately made his debut for the Bears in aTwenty20 Cup match againstWorcestershire. He formed aspin bowling partnership withoff-spinnerAlex Loudon.[10] After representing South Africa internationally he became ineligible to play as aKolpak ruling player for Warwickshire.[3]
Following the retirement from international cricket of fellow spinnerNicky Boje in late 2006, he was given his first call-up forSouth Africa after Claude Henderson made himself unavailable.[2][11] He played his first match in the third Test of the2006–07 South Africa-India series againstIndia at Newlands Cricket Ground. His career was off to an eventful start, taking fourwickets in the first innings including the wicket ofSachin Tendulkar and is widely considered the best spinner for the Proteas since re-admission.
Harris began to show some more promise on the tour toPakistan in October and November 2007 taking 12 wickets at anaverage of 20.66 including best figures of 5–73 in the first Test inKarachi.[12][13]
In August 2007 Harris, returning to the country of his birth, led South Africa A to a win over Zimbabwe A, taking nine wickets in a man-of-the-match performance.[14]
In March 2008 Harris was selected in the South AfricanOne Day International team that touredBangladesh. Harris played three ODI matches againstBangladesh inChittagong,Mirpur andDhaka.[15][16]
During South Africa's2008 tour of England Harris's bowling style was derided by English commentator and former playerGeoffrey Boycott as being "buffet" bowling.[17][18] In December 2009, in response to this and other criticism of the lack of spin in his bowling, he joked that "most people will say I’ve only got the straight one".[19]
Playing againstAustralia during their2009 tour to South Africa Harris was key to ensuring a South African fightback in the third Test, taking nine wickets in the Protea's innings-and-twenty-run win. For his efforts, he was named man of the match.[20]
In the second Test against India in February 2010 Harris bowled 12 wides, the most wides in a Test innings, bowling over the wicket on team instructions.[21]
Harris was named in theWisden Cricketers' Almanack's 40 best players of 2007.[22] He was named South African Newcomer of the Year in the 2007 Mutual & Federal SA Cricket Awards.[23]
