With Western Australia one wicket away from a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield victories following an electrifying line of play late on day 4, Joel Paris was in an introspective mood and looked to seasoned teammates Sam Whiteman and Hilton Cartwright.
“I reckon this means more than the other two,” he told them.
Moments later, Paris clinched WA’s overwhelming victory over Tasmania with a spectacular catch in the gully, eliciting scenes of joy both on and off the field at the WACA. “The boys reckon I put a little bit of mayo on it,” Paris joked to ESPNcricinfo about his diving attempt to his right.
“I was just happy it stuck. We had to grind away; we haven’t had it all our way. We played unbelievably well in Victoria to get a home final and then we’ve probably played our best cricket this week.
“This one probably sits right at the top for me. We haven’t had the quicks available this year that we normally have and we’ve just had to keep going. It’s very special.”
WA had to rely on periphery quicks for the majority of the season after losing frontliners Jhye Richardson, Lance Morris, and Matthew Kelly. Cameron Gannon, who took eight wickets in the final, and Charlie Stobo stepped up late in the season, but it was left-armer Paris’ consistent presence that kept the attack together.
Paris was unlucky to just take two wickets in the final, but he once again set the tone with frightening new ball bowling in both Tasmania’s innings. He used the grassy surface brilliantly and consistently beat the bat with strong seam movement.
Paris concluded the season with 39 wickets at a fantastic average of 15.2. Since making his first-class debut in late 2015, he has 174 wickets at 20.05 and a strike rate of 45.9.
As seen by his very modest number of first-class outings, Paris has had a slew of injuries throughout his career, prompting WA to be cautious with his workload.
After a delayed start to the season due to a hamstring injury sustained while playing for Australia A against New Zealand A in Brisbane, Paris’ durability impressed as he played five consecutive Shield matches, as well as WA’s Marsh Cup victory over New South Wales, culminating in the Shield final.
“When you’re in a situation where you just have to keep going, I think your body senses that and just finds something,” Paris said. “I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to achieve this year. The amount of cricket I’ve been able to play…certainly haven’t been able to do it before.
“We’ve probably been in a position in past seasons where I’ve been able to rest a little bit more than what I have this season. To get through was really special.”
Paris, 31, played two One-Day Internationals against India in 2016, but his ailments and the depth of quicks in Australian cricket kept him away from the international stage.
The Australian hierarchy, on the other hand, continues to keep Paris on its radar. In addition to playing for Australia A last year, Paris was considered for selection for the most recent Ashes trip.
“That desire to play for Australia is always there. For me that will never go away until I put up the boots,” he said. “If an opportunity comes up, I’ll absolutely take it.”
Paris is undecided about his offseason intentions, with a trip in the United Kingdom being a possibility but contingent on his health. He is currently looking forward to taking a well-deserved break.
“I’ll be putting the feet up for a little bit,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy this one as much as possible.”
