Women’s Big Bash League final: Brisbane Heat batter Laura Harris juggles cricket with nursing career

It’s not often that nurses inflict pain, but Brisbane Heat star Laura Harris hopes to hurt the star-studded Sydney Sixers with her bat in Saturday’s WBBL final at Drummoyne Oval.

Heat batter Laura Harris works at the Logan Hospital Emergency Department.

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It’s not often that nurses inflict pain, but the Brisbane Heat’s Laura Harris hopes to hurt the Sydney Sixers with her bat in Saturday’s WBBL final at Drummoyne Oval.

Harris, 28, is juggling full-time shift work at Logan Hospital with her Heat commitments.

Cricket was not a part of her long-term career plan before Harris found her way into the professional sporting arena after several injuries to the Heat’s 2015-2016 squad left the team short on batters.

Heat batter Laura Harris works at the Logan Hospital Emergency Department.

Harris, who always wanted a job where she could help others and “make a difference”, said the lifestyle of emergency shift workers was hard enough without the added strain of competitive cricket.

“It’s pretty busy, I’m not going to lie,” Harris said.

“The shift work is the worst part, trying to juggle it all while managing to get a bit of sleep.”

Harris praised both Cricket Queensland and Logan Hospital staff for being understanding of her busy schedule, jokingly saying that the two organisations knew her changing routine better than she did.

Although payments for professional sportswomen have come a long way in recent years, with combined salaries for female cricketers increasing from $7.5 million to $55.2 million in 2017, WBBL players still do not make enough to choose cricket in place of a full-time career.

Captain Kirby Short is a teacher, while all-rounder Sammy-Jo Johnson owns her own landscaping business.

But when faced with the choice of working an extra shift or going to training, Harris said the decision during the lead up to the WBBL decider on Saturday had been clear-cut.

Laura Harris will be hoping to get among the runs against the Sixers.

“I have to prioritise a lot, and lately it’s almost always been cricket that wins out,” Harris said.

“I think it’s very important to have or do something outside of just the sport.

“Honestly, cricket for me is just a rollercoaster of trying to enjoy the moments while having fun. Once that stops it’ll be back to the real world.”