Australian cricketer Phoebe Litchfield, about to embark on her maiden T20 World Cup campaign, still pinches herself when she walks out to bat alongside the likes of Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner.
The talented left-hander has been in the spotlight since her teenage years, making her Big Bash debut at 16 before playing alongside modern legends Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara in a charity cricket match at Junction Oval.
The now 21-year-old, recently crowned ICC’s Young Cricketer of the Year, has represented Australia on 36 occasions since her international debut in December 2022, cementing herself in the starting XI across formats.
After reinventing herself as a middle-order finisher in the T20 format, Litchfield dominated bilateral series against the West Indies and India last summer, smacking 172 runs in five knocks with an eye-watering strike rate of 184.94, including a record-breaking 18-ball fifty at North Sydney Oval.
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Although she would prefer batting up the order, as is the case for most young players, Litchfield acknowledged that her exploits at No. 6 have made her a more versatile T20 cricketer.
“For this team, I’m probably well suited in the middle-order,” Litchfield told Fox Cricket last week.
“With the line-up we’ve got, I probably would have impostor syndrome if I batted above anyone else.
“Hopefully one day I can make my way up the order in the Aussie team. But for now, I’m very settled and happy in the middle.
“It’s really transformed my T20 cricket, being able to come in after all those great stars have batted. They relieve a lot of pressure off me, and I’m able to just come in and play freely.”
After a blistering start to her international career, including last summer’s prolific multi-format tour of India, Litchfield endured a form slump at the start of the year, compiling 60 runs in ten innings across formats against South Africa and Bangladesh. The Orange product also struggled during her maiden Women’s Premier League campaign with the Gujarat Giants, scoring 108 runs at 13.50 with a strike rate of 100.93.
Taming the subcontinent’s turning wickets has proven a challenge for Litchfield, but she picked up a few technical tweaks during March’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh that will aid her at the T20 World Cup, which has been moved to the United Arab Emirates.
“I definitely struggled over there (in Bangladesh),” Litchfield recalled.
“It’s interesting, your habits and muscle memory all goes out the window when you play on those kinds of pitches. Your hands go through the ball quicker in Australia and England.
“It’s been really good to learn that and actually bring it into the World Cup.”
Litchfield, currently preparing for Australia’s three-match T20 series against New Zealand in Mackay, remains her own harshest critic. Having struggled with managing her workload last summer, she’s accepted that failure is inevitable in professional cricket.
“I’ve kind of turned that leaf,” Litchfield continued.
“I’ve definitely matured over the last year, just going, ‘No, it actually doesn’t matter. Give yourself a break and just have fun.’
“Just getting over the fact that you’re going to fail in cricket. That’s going to happen, so how can you best learn from those mistakes and move on to the next game, and hopefully go in with a positive mind, regardless of what’s happened before. That’s probably a big thing.”
Litchfield has been forced to change her approach to training ahead of the T20 World Cup, where she could feasibly walk out to bat with a few deliveries left in the match. Rather than adjusting to conditions and building an innings, she will be required to find the boundary rope from ball one.
“I’m very much a player that bats for 40 minutes and goes, ‘Oh yeah, life’s nice,’ and then slowly progress through my gears,” Litchfield laughed.
“But now it’s getting in the nets early and going, ‘Okay, you’ve only got ten balls here. Let’s see what you can do.’
“It’s all just about mindset and trusting my ability at the end of the day.”
She continued: “I tend to rush things. I tend to go, ‘Oh s***, we need 20 off ten balls.’ So it’s just clearing the mind and going, ‘Actually, you’ve got more time than you think.’”
Part of the challenge for Litchfield has been finding a balance between premeditated strokes, such as laps and sweeps, and reflex shots. Witnessing the feats of national teammate Grace Harris, one of the best pinch-hitters in world cricket, has proven beneficial for the New South Wales star.
“(Harris) has just reminded me of how important it is to just clear the mind,” Litchfield said.
“I’m very much a premeditated shot player, so when I see her come in and just hit the ball, it’s refreshing. It shows me that I can do that as well.
“It’s funny, whenever she premeditates or does anything that I try to do, it doesn’t work, so there’s more than one way to skin a cat. It’s cool to see two different styles work in the middle order.
“It’s kind of a happy balance. Sometimes I get that wrong and you’ll see me get out playing ridiculous shots, but I find that if I can keep the bowler guessing what I’m going to do, it puts me in a more confident position and puts me one step ahead.”
Having won titles under Meg Lanning’s captaincy in 2018, 2020 and 2023, Australia will fight for an unprecedented fourth-consecutive T20 World Cup trophy next month.
The marquee tournament kicks off another busy six months for Litchfield, which includes a Women’s Big Bash League campaign with the Sydney Thunder, white-ball tours of India and New Zealand, a home Ashes series including a pink-ball Test at the MCG and potentially another WPL stint.
However, the Australian team’s first challenge will be facing trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in a three-match T20I series, which kicks off in Mackay this week.
“For us, it’s pretty much just getting the cobwebs out,” Litchfield said.
“It’ll be the first time for us together as a side in a while, and hopefully we can iron out some things to then be raring to go for the World Cup.”
The first T20 between Australia and the White Ferns gets underway at Great Barrier Reef Arena on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.10pm AEST. The entire series will be broadcast live and ad-break free on Foxtel and streaming platform Kayo Sports, along with an exclusive pre-game program.
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