Paris out of Australia A tour after battling back pain in Shield final

Cricket
The determination of Joel Paris to play through the pain barrier in the Sheffield Shield final has been revealed after he was ruled out of the Australia A tour of New Zealand with a back injury.
Paris, the left-arm quick who played two T20Is in 2016, took five wickets in the match across 40 overs but needed pain-killing injections. He also showed his all-round skills with a crucial 31 from 126 balls in a match-defining partnership of 105 alongside Ashton Turner. Overall in the Sheffield Shield he claimed 27 wickets at 17.37.

He had been in line to face New Zealand A early next month in Christchurch with also the possibility of a county deal. His chances to push his claims for an Ashes spot were touted by Western Australia coach Adam Voges, but now he has been sidelined although as yet without a time.

“I’ve never really focused on long-term goals, but I think being an England Ashes year and Dukes balls, plus being a left-armer as well there’s an option to go down there,” Paris said after the Shield final

“I’ve really just focused on playing great cricket for WA this year and then if opportunities come up and the right timing happens, we’ll see what happens from there. But that [international cricket] is something I’ve always strived to get back to.

“It’s been a while since I represented Australia and if that opportunity arises, I’ll take it with both hands.”

Paris will be replaced by South Australia quick Jordan Buckingham who took 15 wickets at 31.00 in the Sheffield Shield.
The Australia A squad is a mixture of those close to the Test side and younger players earmarked for the future. Those with county deals were not considered as they will be getting match practice in the UK against Dukes balls which also be used in the A series.

Peter Handscomb had originally been named in the squad but was withdrawn after signing a deal with Leicestershire.

Updated Australia A squad to face New Zealand A Wes Agar, Xavier Bartlett, Jordan Buckingham, Aaron Hardie, Caleb Jewell, Spencer Johnson, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney, Mitch Perry, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Tim Ward, Teague Wyllie

Products You May Like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *