State of Grace: Harris loving life at the World Cup

After her star turn in the field and with the ball against Sri Lanka, Grace Harris could be forgiven for thinking this T20 World Cup caper is all a bit easy.

Harris lit up Thursday's contest at St George's Park with a brilliant catch to dismiss Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu – although Alyssa Healy was adamant, and Harris herself admitted, there was a healthy dollop of mayo added to her leaping effort.

Then with ball in hand, the off-spinner grabbed 2-7 off three overs after being given a rare chance to bowl by skipper Meg Lanning.

It was just the second time Harris had been called upon with the ball since her return to the national side in January 2022; a combination of Australia's bowling depth and her own restrictions while carrying a knee niggle.

"I thought with these knees, I'm not slowing down anytime soon, I may as well just dive for it," Harris told cricket.com.au of her catch.

"I did think T-Mac (Tahlia McGrath) was going to actually catch it, given it was five meters from her, but there was no call and it was too loud to hear it anyway, so I just committed and I went with it and it stuck so I'll take it.

"I'm absolutely frothing that Meg threw the ball to me, any chance that I can get to not be a specialist fielder in this team, I'll take."

Image Id: 9CBE8260C8C04D68A21B59BD62DD9349 Image Caption: Grace Harris claimed 2-7 from three overs against Sri Lanka // Getty

Harris was not called upon for her main skillset – her aggressive striking – as Healy and Beth Mooney steered Australia to a comprehensive 10-wicket win.

But it is with the willow that she has imposed herself on this Australian team since her international recall last January, joining Ashleigh Gardner and, more recently, Ellyse Perry in an enviably powerful middle-order.

The boisterous Queenslander has a reputation as one of the loudest members of the Australian group and rarely stops talking – even commentating her own actions on the field – but Healy said 'letting Grace be Grace' was paying off for the tournament favourites.

"She's just a laugh a minute and that probably just relaxes the change room to an extent," Healy told reporters in Gqeberha.

"She switches on, don't get me wrong, and she knows her game inside out and she knows what she wants to achieve when she steps out on the park which I think is really impressive, but she's also really laid back about her game and about the game in general.

"I think that laid-back attitude and just the fact she loves being out there and enjoys herself, that rubs off on everybody out there and so it's great to have someone like that in the side."

Harris is lapping up her first T20 World Cup experience.

The allrounder, who debuted in 2015, was selected in Australia's squad for the 2016 event in India but was forced to withdraw at the last minute when she was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis.

Having then been forced to watch from afar after losing her spot in the Australian side in early 2017 until a recall for the Ashes last January, the 29-year-old was taking no risks when it came to making it to this World Cup.

She even avoided the dancefloor at the Australian Cricket Awards on the eve of the team's departure for South Africa, lest a mishap prevent her boarding the flight.

Healy praised the allrounder's resilience after Harris bided her time and worked on her game in the WBBL and WNCL to earn her recall.

"I'm really proud of Grace coming back into our group and everyone just embracing who Grace is and letting Grace be Grace out there on the field and also off the park as well," Healy said.

"She's a great person to have around our side, not just for the personality but for her skills on the park as well, she's unbelievably damaging with the bat in hand.

"Grace has been around for a long time and I think the way that she just trusts her game now, she thinks about the game a lot more and knows the shots that she wants to play and the shots that she's going to be able to clear the boundary with to certain bowlers.

"I think that work that she's done behind the scenes has allowed her to come out and be this incredibly powerful player.

"She's a perfect person to step out there and break the game wide open which is exactly what you want so she's a true asset to our group."

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

Australia's T20 World Cup 2023 fixtures

Feb 11: beat New Zealand by 97 runs

Feb 14: beat Bangladesh by eight wickets

Feb 16: beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets

Feb 18: v South Africa, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 7pm local (4am Feb 19 AEDT)

Semi-finals

Feb 23: Newlands, Cape Town, 3pm local (12am Feb 24 AEDT)

Feb 24: Newlands, Cape Town, 3pm local (12am Feb 25 AEDT)

Final

Feb 26: Newlands, Cape Town, 3pm local (12am Feb 27 AEDT)