Paul Harris (South African cricketer) - Biography, Age, Career, Wife, Stats and Honors

Paul Lee Harris is a Zimbabwean-born former South African cricketer who played Test cricket as a left-arm orthodox spin bowler for the South African team between 2007 and 2011. His talent as a left-arm spin bowler brought him to the limelight and made him a key player for the South African national team. 

Throughout his career, he played for several cricket teams, including the Titans, Warwickshire, Northerns, and Western Province. His exceptional skills and contributions to the sport were recognized in 2008 when he was named one of South Africa's Players of the Year. Harris's impressive career has left a lasting impact on South African cricket, and he is remembered as one of the country's notable cricketers.

Early Life

Harris, who is now 46 years old, was born on November 2, 1978, in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His father, Mark, was a member of the British South Africa Police until 1980. As a young child, Paul moved with his family to South Africa, where he grew up in Fish Hoek, Cape Town. His father is now a pastor in the Fish Hoek area.

Personal Life

Paul Harris currently lives in Olympus, Pretoria, with his wife Marilet.

Cricket Career Beginnings

While playing for Fish Hoek High School, Paul Harris was noticed by Western Province coach Duncan Fletcher, who brought him into the provincial youth system. At Western Province, he played alongside future England player Jonathan Trott.

Harris made his first-class cricket debut for Western Province B in 1998 in a match against Eastern Province B in Port Elizabeth. However, it took him more than two years to play another first-class match due to tough competition for spinner roles, with players like Paul Adams and Claude Henderson being preferred. As a result, Harris only played two matches for Western Province in March 2001 and February 2002.

After the 2001–02 cricket season, Harris transferred to Northerns. When South African domestic cricket was restructured in 2004, he played for the Titans in the SuperSport Series and occasionally for Northerns in the South African Airways Provincial Challenges.

In the 2006 English cricket season, he joined Warwickshire under the Kolpak ruling after New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori was injured. He debuted for Warwickshire in a Twenty20 Cup match against Worcestershire and formed a spin bowling partnership with off-spinner Alex Loudon. However, after representing South Africa internationally, he became ineligible to continue playing as a Kolpak player for Warwickshire.

International cricket

After Nicky Boje retired from international cricket in late 2006, Paul Harris was given his first call-up to the South African national team following Claude Henderson's unavailability. He made his debut in the third Test of the 2006–07 series against India at Newlands Cricket Ground, where he had a notable start by taking four wickets in the first innings, including the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. Harris quickly earned a reputation as the best spinner for the Proteas since their re-admission.

Harris's potential became evident during the tour to Pakistan in October and November 2007, where he claimed 12 wickets at an average of 20.66, with his best performance being 5–73 in the first Test in Karachi. In August 2007, he led South Africa A to victory over Zimbabwe A in a match where he took nine wickets and earned the man-of-the-match title. Throughout 2007, he also took 29 wickets in the Test series against India.

In March 2008, Harris was included in the South African One Day International squad that toured Bangladesh, playing three ODI matches in Chittagong, Mirpur, and Dhaka.

During South Africa's 2008 tour of England, English commentator and former player Geoffrey Boycott criticized Harris's bowling style, calling it "buffet" bowling. In December 2009, Harris humorously responded to criticism about the lack of spin in his bowling, joking that "most people will say I’ve only got the straight one."

In the 2009 series against Australia, Harris played a crucial role in South Africa's fightback in the third Test, taking nine wickets and helping the Proteas secure an innings-and-twenty-run victory. His outstanding performance earned him the man of the match award.

During the second Test against India in February 2010, Harris set a record by bowling 12 wides in a single innings, which was the most wides bowled in a Test innings at that time. This occurred while he was following team instructions to bowl over the wicket.

Stats 

Role: Bowler 

Batting Style: Right Handed Bat 

Bowling Style: Left-arm orthodox

Honors

Paul Harris was recognized as one of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's 40 best players of 2007. His impressive performance in his debut year also earned him the title of South African Newcomer of the Year at the 2007 Mutual & Federal SA Cricket Awards.