Hobart Hurricanes’ newest signing a taste of Perth pace

Hurricanes coach’s connections with Western Australian cricket have helped the Hurricanes coach prize away a former national quick from the Perth Scorchers.

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ADAM Griffith’s connections with Western Australian cricket have helped the Hurricanes coach prize away a former national quick from the Perth Scorchers.

Left-arm paceman Joel Paris will join Hobart for BBL|11, having signed a two-year deal with the club.

The 28-year-old, who battled numerous injuries during his early years in the domestic system, shot to prominence as a white ball specialist with the Scorchers and Warriors, earning an Australian call up to the one day series against India in 2015-16.

He won WA’s one day player of the year award last summer but made just one appearance for Perth in the Big Bash, unable to break into a line up containing the likes of Jason Behrendorff, Jye Richarson and AJ Tye.

It saw Griffith — a former Warriors assistant — sound out the talented quick and offer him more opportunity in purple.

Joel Paris of the Scorchers bowls during the Big Bash League (BBL) cricket match between the Perth Scorchers and the Brisbane Heat at Optus Stadium in Perth, Saturday, January 11, 2020. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

“I’ve known Joel for going on 10 or 11 years now so someone of his quality, little bit of international experience, but really rounding into just a really good cricketer now,” Griffith said.

“The last couple of years his body’s hardened up, he’s in that really prime age as a fast bowler.

“I think his career will continue to go up and up over the next three, four or five years.

“I’m not going to lie on that [the personal connection helped], but like I said I’ve got a pretty good relationship with him, I’ve done a lot of work with him over the years, so that was probably the one of the main reasons.

“It was actually coming back from the IPL, speaking to a few people that know him that he wanted some opportunity so I just reached out to him and had a chat to him about where he was at and then sort of went from there.”

Joel Paris of the Scorchers celebrates after dismissing Ben Cutting of the Heat during the Big Bash League (BBL) cricket match between the Perth Scorchers and the Brisbane Heat at Optus Stadium in Perth, Saturday, January 11, 2020. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

Griffith confirmed the Hurricanes have all but “squared away” a couple of overseas imports, but was remaining tight lipped on who will join the squad this season.

He did reveal it was a mixture of old and new faces.

The continued uncertainty around borders and quarantine requirements stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic has narrowed the pool of available players, leaving several teams chasing the same international stars.

“It’s pretty hard, I won’t sugar-coat it. It’s just the current climate around players.

“There’s a lot of cricket leading into it as well with IPLs, World Cups, and then it’s straight into a Big Bash.

“It is tough but there still are really talented players out there that want to come and play.

“I think we’ve done pretty well so far in that space, and we’ll announce those pretty soon, but it can be hard and we find that a lot of teams are going for the same players because of that.”

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Hall passes on another year with Hurricanes

HURRICANES captain Corinne Hall has ended her six year stint with the WBBL franchise to return to her home state for this year’s tournament.

Hall, who grew up in Newcastle, has inked a one year deal with defending champions Sydney Thunder.

It will see her return to NSW for the first time since 2010.

The 33-year-old spent two seasons with the Breakers before moving to Tasmania, where she has become an integral part of both the Tasmania Tigers WNCL squad and the Twenty20 group.

Hobart Hurricanes captain Corinne Hall has signed with the Sydney Thunder for WBBL|07. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“Thunder have created an amazing culture which breeds success. It’s very exciting to be a part of that,” Hall said.

“The most appealing thing for me was the opportunity to play with such a great mixture of players.

“You’ve got senior leaders like [Thunder captain] Rachael Haynes — who I’ve long admired for her leadership — and Sammy-Jo Johnson.

“Then you have a really great bunch of young talented girls coming through as well like Hannah Darlington and Phoebe Litchfield.

“Towards the back end of my career, there was always a lingering thought in the back of my mind that I’d like to finish playing in NSW as well.”

Corinne Hall of the Hurricanes bats during the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) match between the Sydney Sixers and the Hobart Hurricanes at North Sydney Oval in Sydney, Wednesday, November 20, 2019. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)

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