Grace Harris had already turned half an eye towards next year's T20 World Cup in England when the call came from Australian selectors
'Cheeky surprise': Harris to make most of unexpected chance
Grace Harris admits she was surprised at her inclusion in Australia's ODI World Cup squad – but selectors believe the 'X-factor' she provides could be an ace up the sleeve for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka.
Harris, who last played a one-day international in March 2024, was on Friday named in Australia's 15-player squad for the tournament starting September 30.
A core member of the national T20 side, Harris has struggled to make herself a regular in the 50-over format, playing just 11 of a possible 96 ODIs since her debut in 2016.
"I must admit, the World Cup's a cheeky surprise selection," Harris told cricket.com.au.
"At the start of the year, I thought I won't make the ODI World Cup team because recently I haven't exactly been picked in Aus one-day teams or anything like that.
"There's probably (other) players that have performed and could put their hand up for selection – I wouldn't have been surprised, or I wouldn't have been shocked at being told, 'Oh, you're not going'.
"So I must admit, the ODI World Cup's probably a bit of a happy surprise."
Convinced at the start of the year that she had little-to-no chance of travelling to the subcontinent for the ICC tournament, Harris had already cast her mind ahead to next year's T20 World Cup in England.
Unsatisfied with her previous performances in UK conditions, Harris signed up for a county stint with Surrey to accompany her contract with London Spirit for the Hundred, spending the best part of three months in England across the winter.
The move paid off, with Harris scoring 338 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 156 for Surrey in the T20 Blast, including a match-winning 63no from 33 balls in the final.
She then carried that form across town, striking 214 runs at an average of 35.66 and strike rate of 174 for London Spirit in the Hundred.
Now, her mind has firmly turned to more immediate matters, with the Australian squad to depart for India next Wednesday.
The 31-year-old said she was still unconvinced she could crack the Australia XI – with a top seven of Alyssa Healy, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner and Tahlia McGrath, it's a fair enough assessment – but she is confident of making an impact as a finisher in the middle-to-lower order should the opportunity come her way.
"I think our one-day format and our one-day team is probably the most formidable and the most settled," she said.
"If I'm going through the names, sometimes I think, 'Well, who's being kicked out for me?'
"Our team is and has been dominant for the past two years, at least, we've got pretty much all skill sets covered, from pace bowling, the spinners, batters – we bat to number eight there.
"It'll be great personal development for me training over there and then I guess if I'm fortunate enough to get an opportunity, of course, I want to take it with both hands and run with it.
"It would be good to play a game in the one-day World Cup – I went to New Zealand (in 2022) and didn't play a game."
Speaking to media in Brisbane on Friday, national selector Shawn Flegler was bemused by Harris's reaction to her selection.
While he acknowledged it would be difficult for the Queenslander to crack the first XI, Flegler said the 'X-factor' Harris provides through her powerful hitting, combined with her experience in Indian conditions, made her an enticing prospect.
"Grace is always surprised when she gets picked, which is nice, but she's a different player for us," Flegler said.
"And the role that she might play in ODI cricket, I think it'd be more down the bottom-middle order.
"I think the way she bats, the experience she's got in India, that's why she got selected ... she's got some great experience and she's a little bit different to some other middle-over batters.
"She could take away a game away in a few overs … I think she could be really good, if she gets an opportunity."
Qantas ODI tour of India 2025
September 14: First ODI, Mullanpur Cricket Stadium, 6pm AEST
September 17: Second ODI, Mullanpur Cricket Stadium, 6pm AEST
September 20: Third ODI, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 6pm AEST
India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Sneh Rana
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
2025 Women's ODI World Cup
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
Australia's warm-up match
September 28: v England, Bengaluru, Bengaluru, 7:30pm AEST
Australia's group stage matches
October 1: v New Zealand, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 7:30pm AEST
October 4: v Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7:30pm AEST
October 8: v Pakistan, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8:30pm AEDT
October 12: v India, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT
October 16: v Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT
October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
Finals
Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT
Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT
Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT
All matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Amazon's Prime Video. A free trial is available here.