Australia batter Grace Harris has been ruled out of the 2025 ODI World Cup due to a calf issue, in what would be a major blow to the defending champions’ depth, just over a week before their tournament opener against New Zealand on October 1. She has been replaced by Western Australia and former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) allrounder Heather Graham.
Harris injured her calf while fielding in the final ODI of the three-match series against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday. It was the only match that she played in the series, that too, as a replacement for Annabel Sutherland, who was ruled out with hip soreness.
Harris hasn’t otherwise been a starter for Australia but was a crucial option for their reserves. Many didn’t
give her a chance to be in the full squad either, but she all but forced her way in with a brilliant stint in England for Surrey in the T20 Blast, scoring 338 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 156, including a match-winning 63 off 33 balls in the final. Once in the team, the 32-year-old was seen as an X-factor.
Further, the World Cup will be a long tournament in foreign conditions for the Aussies, and they have also been dealing with several injuries in the lead-up.
Apart from Sutherland, Phoebe Litchfield missed the last two matches of the India ODI series with a quad issue, while Sophie Molineux was unavailable for the entire series as she still hasn’t fully recovered from her knee injury. Phoebe Litchfield has suffered back spasms recently, while both Georgia Wareham and Alyssa Healy have only recently recovered from their injuries.
Graham, meanwhile, also brings a ton of experience of various leagues to the Aussie squad. The 28-year-old has only played one ODI for Australia, though, against Sri Lanka in Brisbane eight years ago.
