'Cricket smarts' has Harris set for World Cup experience

No matter what happens over the course of the next month in New Zealand, Grace Harris' second World Cup experience has already surpassed her first.

The bar was quite low, of course – all she had to do this time was make it onto the plane.

After an untimely run in with deep vein thrombosis saw her ruled out just before Australia's departure for the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, Harris was taking no chances this time around.

She successfully dodged COVID-19, injury and any other nasty surprises to make her way to Christchurch earlier this month, and after making it through the seven-day hotel quarantine period, has been busy embracing what the south island's biggest city has to offer.

Image Id: 9FABFCBE7CFC4089B1E5F33BFBC30B39 Image Caption: Grace Harris and teammates Amanda-Jade Wellington and Georgia Redmayne enjoy some downtime in NZ // Instagram graceh_189

A powerful allrounder who made her T20I debut in 2015 and who forged a reputation as one of the most damaging players in the WBBL, Harris did not expect to be handed a spot in a one-day World Cup before earning her second shot at the T20 version.

She was fortunate she even had her passport with her when she left Queensland in mid-January for the Australia A tour that ran alongside the Ashes – and she definitely did not pack enough clothing for a trip that will not see her return home to Brisbane until April.

"It was a bit of a shock to me ... if I play a game in the one-day World Cup, I will have played a one-day World Cup before I've made it to the T20 World Cup ... who would have thought?" Harris told cricket.com.au before leaving for New Zealand.

"I didn't pack my passport (but) my mother threw it in my backpack before going, so I ended up with it.

"I just thought when Flegs (selector Shawn Flegler) was saying I was in contention for the senior squad, I figured he'd say that to everybody.

"So I packed quite light."

Harris was surprised by her selection for this tournament, but in her time out of the national set-up she has been putting in the hard yards with the Queensland coaching staff to try and take her raw talent and add the necessary nous required to make her a consistent performer.

It was Harris's strength and ability to clear any fence that saw her included in the national side in 2015 aged 22, but that raw talent has taken time to mature.

She played nine ODIs and 11 T20Is across a 15-month period before she was replaced in the Australian squad in early 2017 by another prodigiously talented and powerful off-spinning allrounder: Ashleigh Gardner.

"I probably had talent, but I didn't really know how to apply it," Harris said of her first foray into international cricket.

"I knew I could hit sixes or fours and be aggressive, but it was about knowing when to have a crack.

"I had the right theory about wanting to apply pressure (to the opposition) but I'm a bit better around how I do it now … I feel like over the past few years I've gotten a bit better with my cricket smarts, and I'm still learning.

"How I go about setting fields for my bowling for instance (and) when I'm walking out to the middle I know what bowler is coming down, what they do, what tricks they've got and how I'm going to combat it, in different conditions too."

The 28-year-old pointed to the work she has been doing with Queensland and Brisbane Heat head coach Ash Noffke, assistant coach Scott Prestwidge, and former Australia spinner Nathan Hauritz as critical to her development.

"Scotty I worked a lot on tactics (and) Noffers challenged me on how I actually set up and play shots themselves, as well as when I should play them," Harris explained.

"And with my bowling I've been working with Nathan Hauritz … he's been good with tweaking a little bit of my technique – just a bit because I'm older and kind of set in my ways – and he just talked a lot about fields and tactics in different conditions and scenarios."

The Australian side has evolved since Harris was last in the squad for a 2016 ODI series against South Africa; in the years since, the game-changing pay deal of 2017 has transformed the national side into a full-time professional outfit.

"The squad's changed a lot since I was last in it – how they train, it's slightly more professional," Harris said.

"When I was last in, we had half a squad who were uni students or workers with cricket, then half who were living off cricket. Now they're basically all full-time cricketers."

Harris was denied the chance to make an impact in her long-awaited return to international cricket in January; called into the T20I XI in place of an injured Beth Mooney, she wasn't required to bat or bowl in the Ashes opener, and the remaining two 20-over matches were washed out before her Queensland teammate made her rapid return from jaw surgery.

But she remains a chance to play her first ODI since November 2016 at this World Cup – Australia's XI is near-impossible to break into, but the long tournament and the ever-present risk of injury or illness means she must constantly be ready.

"I don't mind even if I just get a good Gatorade mix by the end of the comp … I'm just looking forward to the World Cup experience, because everyone tells me they're a lot different to regular tours," Harris said.

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington. Travelling reserves: Heather Graham, Georgia Redmayne

Australia's World Cup 2022 fixtures

Mar 5: v England, Seddon Park, Hamilton, 12pm AEDT

Mar 8: v Pakistan, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12pm AEDT

Mar 13: v New Zealand, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 15: v West Indies, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 19: v India, Eden Park, Auckland, 12pm AEDT

Mar 22: v South Africa, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 25: v Bangladesh, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

Semi-finals

Mar 30: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 31: Hagley Park Christchurch, 12pm AEDT

Final

Apr 3: Hagley Park Christchurch, 11am AEDT

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports