Grace Harris put on a spectacular performance for London Spirit, hammering an unbeaten 89 off 42 balls. The allrounder’s stunning display inspired her side to a crushing 17-run win over Oval Invincibles in the opening game of The Hundred at Lord’s. Her incredible innings included six sixes, tying her performance to the individual competition record. This impressive innings helped London Spirit to 176-5, their highest score in the women’s competition to date.
When her team needed her the most, Harris was ready. After Cordelia Griffith’s fall, London Spirit were reeling at 40-2, but Harris proved the shot in the arm their batting order needed. She soon found her rhythm and brought up her half-century in a mere 28 balls, hitting the ball to all parts and demonstrating her power-hitting ability. Harris quickly formed a crucial partnership with Elysse Griffith, as the two put on 100 runs together before Griffith was dismissed.
That day’s match had contained a level of explosive batting seen only rarely, and that had kept the crowd gasping. Players clobbered a combined 15 sixes, a new tournament record! Harris helped the campaign break that record by a wide margin, breaking six of them herself. She announced her intent in magnificent fashion, launching consecutive sixes off bowlers Sophia Smale and Tash Farrant. The crowd at Lord’s went nuts as she took aim and found the exact boundaries she needed!
Harris had a stellar defensive match, giving an all-star effort. In an important turning point of the match, she was put down on the long-off boundary while on 22 runs. That blunder allowed her to continue hitting and pile up more runs. She even clubbed a six off her Australian teammate Amanda-Jade Wellington!
Even as wickets fell around him, Harris never really slowed down, scoring at a brisk clip throughout the innings. The Invincibles did everything possible to keep her from hitting the ball in those final moments, keeping her from a century. The England international’s contributions were integral in setting London Spirit upon their title defence on the right track.
Leave a Reply