Grace Harris - embracing life as it comes on and off the cricket field

As this writer made his way into the UP Warriorz' team hotel in Bengaluru, he was set to fulfill a long wish of interviewing one of the game's most enterprising characters.

He ran into former Australian cricketer Mel Jones, who is in India on broadcast duties for the Women's Premier League, in the lobby. As they exchanged pleasantries, he told Jones that he was there to have a conversation with Grace Harris.

A wide grin followed on Jones' face as she replied:

'Oh you'll enjoy that one!"

Not surprising, for the happy-go-lucky Harris is as good an example as any of how to embrace life as it comes. Besides that, she is unique, and in a manner so captivating that you always want to watch her on the cricket field, never mind how hard she smashes the cricket ball (remember 'Stuff it, I'll still hit it'?).

She wears socks with pictures of burgers on them, and fans never want her to remove her microphone every time she's being interviewed on the field. A comfortable cult star.

Cricket has been very easy to enjoy for Harris, who always wants to be optimistic. She elaborates on that and more in a typically bubbly conversation with Sportskeeda.

"You always want to enjoy life. You can make certain things chores or you can choose to be happy and try and make it fun when you do it. So, if I have to do something that I don't like, I may as well try and make it as enjoyable as possible - that's how I see it. But cricket, it's very easy to enjoy because I've always enjoyed playing it. I am kind of easygoing off the field or easygoing in life. My mother would probably say that's a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing because I'm never really one to worry about, but it's a bad thing because I probably lack a little bit of a direction," says Harris.

Did you just say 'lack a bit of direction'? Surely, you've watched yourself bat, Grace?

"I think if you know a role and you can know how to go about that role, then you bat very well. I think if you want to bat just to bat, then I think T20 cricket is probably not your game. You can bat just to bat in a Test match where you can spend a long period of time batting. You can spend that long period of time without scoring runs as well as scoring runs here and there. But T20 cricket, you definitely have to score runs, so your intent kind of has to be there from ball one and then from there, you just play in the game situation. So often it dictates more than your own thoughts or, you know, just hanging out there to not get out. With T20 cricket, I find you've got more purpose in your batting," says Harris.

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Growing up as Grace Harris

It all began in the backyard of the Harris family. Her sister Laura, who is also in India with the Delhi Capitals, had bragging rights over the cricket bat - typical sibling rivalry in the backyard, of course. Grace jokingly reckons she might have ended up becoming a bowler as a result.

Funnily, considering how hard the sisters murder the ball, the rule that 'if you clear the fence, you're out' came back to bite them in the backyard. They ended up searching for the ball for a good half hour more often than not.

At the bottom line, though, it was a whole lot of fun. And it didn't involve cricket alone.

"It was always just good fun. I think we learned a bit from each other and helped each other develop our own abilities as athletes. When we grew up, we played multiple sports. So I got karate kicked that many times while Laura was learning how to slide tackle in soccer or football. Wore a few in the shin there and, you know, you just get up and you keep going. So it was always good fun. But yeah, probably taught us a fair bit, I guess," says Grace.

What's with Australians and multiple sports? Ellyse Perry's goal in the FIFA World Cup is available at the tip of a search engine on the internet. Ashleigh Barty, a three-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1, was once Harris' teammate at the Brisbane Heat in the Women's Big Bash League.

Harris attributes this to the sports - including cricket - being seasonal. The sisters enjoyed any sport they could pick up, and in extremely modest fashion, Grace says cricket was something she and Laura ended up being 'semi-successful at.'

"It's a good lifestyle too. You can't complain too much about this. And then Laura's an ED nurse, so I think that comes with genuine pressure. So with her role with the bat, and sometimes when we come across, sometimes we don't really care that much about the game or what not. It's not really that. I think it's perspective more than anything in that you're just kind of playing a game and it's not really that big of a pressure task, is it to score some runs or to take a wicket or hold a catch or something?" states Harris.

It's not always relaxed with no nerves, though. Grace admits to being at the edge of her seat when she watches Laura bat more than when she's out in the middle herself.

Elaborating on the dream to don the gold and green of Australia alongside her sister, she says:

"I guess it would make grandpa very happy. He would love it. Laura would enjoy international cricket. And I don't know if she might be, you know, too old to get selected…they look for all-rounders these days. So she'd have to play kind of a very succinct role or a very specific role in the Australian women's cricket team. And probably it would be myself or Larris (Laura's nickname) in the team. It wouldn't probably be both of us because if it's going to be that finishing role, unless we got, I don't know, number seven and number eight batters, then we can bat together.

"In T20 cricket, I think the trend at the moment is that they love all-rounders or they love that you can have a couple of strings to your bow. And I don't know, Laura might be either a bit too old because she's now 33. So maybe missed a missed a trick there. We'll see...we'll see what happens. I guess you never really say never. But I think it's highly unlikely if I'm being a realist."

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Into the mind of Grace Harris, the power hitter

Harris lets out a huge laugh when reminded of 'stuff it, I'll still hit it'.

It had to come up, for there are few batters who strike the ball as hard as she does - even if it means the handle and the willow end up in two distinct halves, and the ball goes flying over the fence!

While she enjoys hitting the ball clean, it wasn't something she necessarily envisioned when she took up the sport. Nor did the thought of wanting to play for Australia cross her mind when she was happy bludgeoning the ball in her backyard.

"We didn't really dream about representing their country in sports. We just had fun in the backyard playing the game. And I guess I then just got the opportunity growing up to do it and I've been fortunate enough to do it. But being a clean ball striker or known for big hitting, it's positive and negative. Because sometimes I feel like the pressure's on me to always just hit sixes. Cricket doesn't always work like that. Sometimes it's not your day.

"And sometimes you have to play kind of just a maneuvering role or a steadying role and someone else is teeing off down the other end. So sometimes you walk off the field and you're a bit like, ‘well, I didn't do so well today'. But being able to cleanly strike the ball and maneuver can also get you into some trickier periods of time throughout the year where you doubt going for the big six and you hit singles, but really you should have gone for the six because the ball was there. So if you can play two roles, it's great for your versatility."

She understands the pros and cons that come with being able to smash the ball, considering she can get into tricky periods where she is in two minds over whether to go for the big shot or not.

"If you can play two roles, it's great for your versatility. But sometimes actually playing the game, it works outside your favor. Whereas if you can only hit the ball, then you commit to only hitting the ball. And you watch bowlers come in and they don't play, they don't dead bat, right? A Nathan Lyon can't hit sixes, so he only dead bats. But if you watch someone like an Alana King bat, she only knows one way - she knows how to hit the ball. So when she walks out the bat, it doesn't matter the scenario, you know that she's hitting the ball.

"So sometimes when you're a batter that can hit the boundaries and you can be expected to hit the boundaries, it can play a little bit of a negative in your career compared to someone who just goes, I don't hit sixes, I only hit fours. So they only learn or they only stick at just hitting fours and hitting ones. And then they kind of go like, oh, it's on, you know, you hit the sixes. T20 cricket, you’re going for runs. So it kind of dictates more than that part of your game. That's how I see it sometimes," says Harris.

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The dynamics behind Harris' versatility

You'd shell out more than a penny for Harris' thoughts on her game. With the conversation now getting deeper into how she juggles different roles, she is more than happy to elaborate on her versatility and what aids her cause.

It's fascinating too, for she starts the year as a finisher for the UP Warriorz before morphing into an opening batter for the London Spirit and the Brisbane Heat. All while donning the finisher's role again every time she takes the field for Australia.

How does she do that?

"I can train to face 15 balls or I can train to face six balls. So if you if you're listed at number seven and you only really come in at number seven, admittedly, you're probably only going to face six balls most of the time, especially in the Australian women's cricket team, because we've got a pretty solid top six. How many ever runs you can score off six balls, you're kind of going out there and you're going 'okay, if I'm coming up against a pacer that's going to do all change ups, these are my options; if I'm coming up against a spinner, these are my options.' And the conditions might dictate slight changes. You might play a bit square or you might play a bit straighter or aim for the shorter boundary, for instance. So finishing the game, you're kind of walking into the scenario most of the time knowing what you want," says Harris.

While Harris is arguably the best finisher on the women's circuit today, with a breathtaking T20I strike rate of 167.21, she unabashedly declares facing the least amount of pressure as an opener even while acknowledging the challenges that come with having to adapt to both roles alternately.

"The challenging part for me in the last 18 months is just simply facing a swinging ball when you're opening compared to change ups more when you're batting in the middle order. So that's my main difference. But with a swinging ball, you've only got two fielders out, which is exceptional as well. That's what I love the most...you can really commit to any shots that you want to play most of the time and know that you're probably on the right side of the court or like it was probably the right shot to play. You just didn't execute it.

"I like both roles, but sometimes I do find it challenging switching between because, you know, you want to bat for a longer period of time and you want to try and have as big of an impact on the team and performance as possible. So yeah, it can be challenging at times," says Harris.

Some would argue that Harris has found it challenging to break into Australia's ODI XI. The player herself doesn't reckon so, however. She is completely mindful of what's in her control and what isn't, while totally coming on board with the notion that the selectors have to look at the future and back younger talent.

"It could just be the amount of depth that we actually have in the Australian domestic program that maybe it's just not like, you know, I'm not required or not good enough to get selected. So and I'm 30 now. So if you're like maybe you're young, you're picking Annabel Sutherland or you start picking the next generation, too. There's a there's a girl coming through called Tessie Flintoff. There's Georgia Voll. There's a lot of players that can perform. Even like a Georgia Redmayne and Elyse Villani and Nicola Carey is still back home. So I don't really look at it and think 'oh, woe is me' because there's that much talent and kind of the amount of players that they could choose that could play in the team. So it's not really challenging. If I get selected, I get selected. If I don't then I'm back home walking Dorrie (her dog) or something (grins). I get to do all sorts of other experiences so it's good."

Accepting things as they are is clearly a big part of the personality that Harris is. Aptly summed up in one phrase:

"I've done everything that I can and if you don't make it, that’s life."

When Chamari Athapaththu was adjudged LBW by ball tracking in the Warriorz' game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last week, the internet went into a furore over a possible glitch from the system. Alyssa Healy, the skipper of the Warriorz, was clearly gobsmacked by what she saw on the big screen, and rightly so.

The beaming grin on Harris' face was unmissable as she strode to the crease in the immediate aftermath of that wicket. The game was tensely poised, a controversial dismissal had unfolded, but there she was, looking relaxed as ever.

Interestingly enough, there have been times where Healy has asked her to calm down from beyond the boundary ropes. None of it was needed when she had the ball in hand to deliver a crucial final over against the Delhi Capitals (DC), successfully defending 10 runs as the Warriorz kept their campaign alive by a bare margin.

Bouncing back to the conversation where she spoke of her selection chances in Australia's ODI XI, she pointed towards something interesting about her bowling that fairly explains how prepared she was for that situation.

"I feel there's no point trying to control or worry about stuff that you can't control... In the state team, I don't bowl that many overs either because we have some younger talent that's coming through and I want them to go really well. So if they need to bowl overs now and I'm not bowling overs for them to develop, I want Queensland to do very well in the future. So maybe I just have to be a bit more of a batter and a fielder and just bowl in the nets a bit more and keep my bowling there. And then if I get a crack in the middle, then I'm ready still. I can't really go like ‘oh, you've got to pick me.’ If I did that, I'd be picked for every, every game, every format, every game. So that's how it rolls."

The WPL loves Harris, and Harris loves the WPL too. To her, women's cricket's burgeoning number of T20 competitions offer different opportunities and challenges, due to their scheduling, format and difference in logistics.

Harris reckons the WPL appears to do most of the basics right. While she is of the opinion that the tournament can expand beyond five teams, multifaceted factors such as the international calendar add a catch to it.

In The Hundred, a team plays either its cross-town rival or another team twice and the rest of the competition just once. In the WBBL, each team may play the other seven twice to take it to a round-robin leg of 14 matches per team, but the DRS isn't in use in all games.

Harris views the WPL to stand out with time because of certain conditions - particularly the use of the DRS - remaining a constant throughout the season.

"I love it as long as the conditions are the same, which they are in pretty much every game. You've got the DRS, you've got the umpires who all stay the same for the competition. You're playing at the same venue and you're playing every team. So it's a great format and a great competition. There are a lot of factors that set them all apart and a lot of arguments that you could go either way. But I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in the WPL so far. And I do love the venues that we've played out and the competition itself is great," she opines.

As the writer lost track of time through the course of this candid chat, he made sure to conclude with a reference to the one word that Harris beams at the thought of - a burger, of course.

"I've been thoroughly enjoying my Indian cuisine at the moment. I'll definitely be exploring burger options...around the match days when we have a bit more of a relaxed morning or days off."

Fair to say Harris would have earmarked some of her favorite burger joints in Bangalore and Delhi for her next visit to India. For someone who celebrates the 28th of May each year as International Burger Day, you wouldn't expect anything else.

And irrespective of how this WPL season ends for the Warriorz, life will remain a mode of finding joy in the simplest of things for this maverick superstar.