Grace Harris played the third ODI against India Women in Delhi on Saturday and injured her calf and the scans revealed a strain. Harris wasn’t going to be part of Australia’s first XI but it is a significant blow for the defending champions with several players in the squad returning from injuries.
Australia suffered a significant injury blow in the lead up to the upcoming Women’s World Cup, with hard-hitting Grace Harris being ruled out due to a calf strain. Harris, who didn’t play the first two ODIs against India in Mullanpur, got into the XI for the series decider in Delhi and suffered a calf injury before the scans revealed a strain. More than the Australian team, it was a huge blow for Harris personally, who was looking forward to hopefully getting a game in the World Cup, having been benched the whole tournament in 2022.
Harris was replaced by Western Australia all-rounder Heather Graham in the squad. Harris only got the chance in the side because Annabel Sutherland missed the third ODI due to hip soreness and hence, the former wasn’t going to be in the first XI.
A few days after the squad announcement, Harris had mentioned that she was surprised being named into the side but was looking forward to getting a go in the line-up. “I must admit, the World Cup’s a cheeky surprise selection. 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,” Harris was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au after the squad announcement.
Sutherland’s hip soreness was the latest injury concern in the Australian camp with Sophie Molineux missing the whole series as she is still working her way to full fitness from a knee injury. Opening batter Phoebe Litchfield missed the last two matches of the India series with a quad issue and pacer Darcie Brown suffered back spasms.
Skipper Alyssa Healy (foot) and leg-spinner Georgia Wareham (groin and adductor strain) getting through the whole series without any concerns after making a return from their respective injuries would have been a huge respite for the Australian team as they begin their World Cup defence in a week’s time.