Grace Harris, representing Australia at last month’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, walked down the pitch towards national teammate Beth Mooney and bellowed with delight.
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The Queenslander had just rocked onto the back foot and slapped Indian spinner Renuka Singh through point for a boundary, her first runs of the tournament.
What she said to Mooney wasn’t caught by the stump mics.
“I may have said, ‘Ah, f*** it,’” she later revealed.
Harris, having spent most of her T20I career as a middle-order pinch-hitter, was opening the batting in the absence of injured Australian captain Alyssa Healy. The 31-year-old had just recovered from an injury setback of her own, missing most of the pre-season nursing a calf strain.
The right-hander had only opened the batting for Australia once in the eight years prior, but having done so for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash for nearly a decade, she was more than equipped for the challenge.
“I was fairly nervous going out for that game,” Harris told Fox Cricket.
“I’d only done preparation for an old ball and for change-ups, not a hooping inswinger and Powerplay stuff.
“Opening’s fantastic; you’ve got two out, a new hard ball, so it flies off the bat. If you mis hit, often it goes over the ring fielders.
“I feel a lot more free opening. And I’m trying to consistently feel more free at No. 6 or 7.”
Harris top-scored in Australia’s group-stage match against India in Sharjah, notching a patent 40 in tough conditions as the reigning champions clinched a thrilling nine-run victory.
A few days later, she was facing the new ball in a T20 World Cup semi-final, thrown in the deep end for a must-win contest.
“The third game of my season was a World Cup semi-final,” Harris laughed.
“I would have liked to contribute more on the flatter wicket in the semi-final. It wasn’t to be.”
South Africa crushed the defending champions in the semi-final in Dubai, ending Australia’s four-peat dream. Harris was caught at point for 3 in the second over, with the Australians only mustering 53 runs from their first ten overs.
“We just didn’t show up,” Harris continued.
“We probably didn’t show up with the bat with the right intent. 55 (runs) after ten overs, you’re probably not pushing the game along a little bit.
“We are expected to win, so when we don’t win, it’s almost like, ‘How could you not win?’
“But again, we’re all still human beings, so you can all still have an off day, or you can still make mistakes.”
With the benefit of hindsight, Harris conceded the Australians got their strategies wrong. Georgia Wareham’s elevation to No. 3 backfired, while all-rounders Ash Gardner and Annabel Sutherland watched from the sidelines as their teammates struggled to find the boundary rope.
“We can afford in the Australian team to be a bit more aggressive, because we do have multiple options down the order,” Harris explained.
“Annabel’s someone that could bat at No. 3 for pretty much any other international team, and she’s batting at No. 8 or 9 for us.
“We probably could have tested our depth a little bit more.
“You can say that in hindsight. Sometimes you’re trying, and it just doesn’t come off in the middle.”
Harris made her international debut in August 2015, selected for Australia’s T20 tour of Ireland – but her first appearance in national colours didn’t go to plan.
“I got stumped for a duck and barbecued Pez (Ellyse Perry),” she giggled.
After a run of low scores in early 2016, Harris was dropped and needed to wait six years for her next taste of international cricket, picked for the 2022 Ashes campaign on home soil.
She has since established herself as one of the most destructive batters in the game, boasting the highest strike rate in women’s T20I history, courtesy of her strength and natural hand-eye coordination.
“I have been backed in,” Harris explained.
“If you’re going to play with a high strike rate, then you’re not going to play consistently, or you can’t be consistently a game-changer, or that X-factor player, because it comes with a higher risk.
“You have to try and grab every opportunity that you possibly get, because with how strong our team is, it’s few and far between, isn’t it?”
Highest strike rate in women’s T20Is
153.86 – Grace Harris (AUS)
137.12 – Richa Ghosh (IND)
134.10 – Chloe Tyron (RSA)
130.31 – Tahlia McGrath (AUS)
129.79 – Alyssa Healy (AUS)
* Minimum 25 innings
Harris has understandably been pigeonholed as a T20 specialist, playing just two ODIs in the last eight years. She’s got half an eye on next year’s World Cup campaign in India, where Australia enters as the reigning champions and outright favourites, but she’s not holding out hope of a call-up.
Last week, Australia announced a 13-player squad for the upcoming ODI series against India, with Queensland teammate Georgia Voll getting a maiden national call-up while Harris missed out.
“I am 31 now,” Harris said.
“Realistically, I think my chances are very slim to make that ODI World Cup.
“Never say never, but it would be a little bit like trying to dream about a Test debut. I don’t think that’s really only cards for me.
“It would be fantastic to make (the World Cup squad), but considering where the team’s at and how much talent is in our domestic set-up, I’m just taking it one series or one game at a time to be honest.
“I’m probably at a point in my career where maybe one or two injuries and I’m probably out anyway.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a tap on the shoulder and they said, ‘Grace, we’re picking a younger one, and we’re exposing them to international cricket in that particular role to set them up for the next ten years.’
“It’s business, and that’s how it goes, and I’m okay with that.”
The Brisbane Heat finished second on the WBBL standings this year, with the Queensland-based franchise preparing to host the Sydney Thunder in Friday evening’s Challenger at Allan Border Field. The victor will face the Melbourne Renegades in the final at the MCG on Sunday.
The Heat haven’t lifted the WBBL trophy since going back-to-back in 2019, but the ladies in teal are two wins away from breaking the five-year drought.
Harris is the Heat’s leading run-scorer this season with 270 at 30.00 and a strike rate of 135.00, including a season-high 75 against the Hobart Hurricanes in Melbourne. On Thursday, she was named in the official WBBL Team of the Decade, selected by a seven-person panel of former players and commentators.
Having featured in all ten seasons of the T20 tournament, Harris has witnessed the competition’s growth over the past decade – but acknowledges there’s room for improvement.
The shortened competition has led to less 2pm weekday matches, while DRS technology is now available for most games. The crowd numbers are climbing, but Harris would love for Australian audiences to turn up in droves like Indian fans do for the Women’s Premier League.
“The intensity of the crowd plays a role in the game,” Harris said.
“As a player, you love playing in front of big crowds and a lot of loud noise. The only way I can compare it is like WPL. They show up in heaps of numbers. And home games really are home games.
“DRS is at every game now, so we’ve got the same playing conditions, which makes more sense, and adds to the integrity of the competition. If you get triggered in a game that’s only live-streamed, and you can’t DRS it, then it could change a season. I’ve seen some ordinary calls in some games.”
Last summer, Harris dominated headlines after breaking her bat while thumping a six against the Perth Scorchers at North Sydney Oval, finishing with an unbeaten 136, at the time a WBBL record.
Footage of the moment has been viewed 71 million times across social media platforms – but Harris remains adamant her family is responsible for most of those clicks.
“(My uncle) had it on his desk at work, and he just plays on replay every third day,” she laughed.
“We’re a T20 game, (fans) hate interruptions and stoppages in play. So in my head, I thought I’ll just change the bat at the end of the over, and not mid-innings.
“How many times do you see the boys run and dive and call for new gloves? You’re not facing up yet! There’s one more to go (in the over). You’re going to run out and go ‘new gloves’ when you’re down the non-striker’s end? You’re a flog. Just wait.”
Australia won’t get an opportunity to defend its Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2026 because cricket has been scrapped from the Glasgow schedule. However, the sport will make its long-awaited return to the Olympics when Los Angeles hosts the Summer Games in 2028.
“I highly doubt I’ll be around for that,” Harris confessed.
“I don’t know, I’ll give it my best shot.
“I won’t be announcing my retirement anytime soon.
“It’d be another great experience to be part of; the broader Australian Olympic team, not just the Australian women’s cricket team.”
Harris will be 34 when the 2028 Olympics rolls around, but having watched this year’s Games in Paris, the Queenslander believes her skills could be more beneficial elsewhere.
“Maybe the European handball goalkeeper, where you can just stick three limbs up and have zero accountability whatsoever,” Harris said.
“It looked like this bunch of dad bods getting around. You get eight of your best mates, jump on a court. Goes for about 20 minutes, 40 minutes or something.
“That doesn’t look that hard.”
The WBBL Challenger between the Heat and Thunder gets underway at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field on Friday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.15pm AEDT.
