India vs Australia Women’s ODI: Phoebe’s Day Out – Litchfield stars with the bat and in the field as Harmanpreet Kaur and Co suffer 190-run defeat

In her first ODI knock, it was fitting that Phoebe Litchfield batted with Meg Lanning. On her debut in January 2023 against Pakistan, the then-19-year-old left-handed opener scored a match-winning 78* and shared a partnership worth 137 runs with the now-retired legend of the game.

After that game, in which she was filling in for Alyssa Healy at the top of the order, Litchfield quipped: “I am happy to run drinks for a long time. I am just happy to be around this group. If there is an opportunity, I’ll take it but I will be pretty happy to see Midge (Healy) back.”

Fast forward a year, and as Australia enter a new era under Healy’s leadership, but with the same old aspiration of dominance, Litchfield is front and centre. On Tuesday in Mumbai, she was involved in a 189-run partnership with the current captain as she scored a classy 119 to power her side to a mammoth 338/7. And it was Healy who had the best seat in the house.

India managed just 148 in response and Litchfield was sensational in the field too – taking an early contender for catch of the year at cover to dismiss Amanjot Kaur – as the 190-run win completed a 3-0 series sweep for the visitors.

“At 20 years of age, what an unbelievable talent we’ve unearthed,” Healy beamed after her side completed a rout at the Wankhede Stadium. “To have two ODI hundreds under her belt already is scary. She’s one for the future no doubt, for me it’s an amazing experience to stand at the other end and watch the next generation. She is also the self-proclaimed best fielder in the team and she proved that today.”

That’s a happy dugout for Pheebs 100 😍 #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/u3wI2I9aLz

— Australian Women’s Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) January 2, 2024

For India, after getting close on Saturday but losing a match they should have probably won, there was very little to write home about. Shreyanka Patil’s spell of 3/57, with back-to-back wickets of Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath, was a highlight and the youngster came for praise from her captain after the match. Deepti Sharma picked up her 100th ODI wicket, becoming the first Indian to reach that milestone in both white-ball formats. But the batting was a no-show as an already steep target kept getting out of reach with regular fall of wickets.

Phoebe’s classy ton

Litchfield finished the day as the Player of the Match and Player of the Series. When her tour to India began last month with the one-off Test, she was run out for a 0-ball 0 in the first over, after a misunderstanding with Mooney. But since then, with every subsequent knock she has played, she’s shown her class.

Incidentally, in the second innings of the Test, when she was looking in good touch, she got out playing the reverse sweep. But come the white-ball series, Litchfield brought out that shot frequently to great effect. In the first ODI, she played second fiddle to Ellyse Perry before shifting through the gears and finishing with 78. In the second game, she was dropped three times and rode her luck to finish with a solid 63. But the third ODI was a case study for a young batter who is constantly learning and improving.

The approach against spinners, already pretty solid, was much more assured as she went forward and back as the length demanded. While she took her time to get going in the previous matches, Litchfield was striking at nearly a-run-a-ball from the word go. It’s not often that Healy is a spectator for the most part during a lengthy partnership, but Litchfield was consistently out-hitting her senior partner in a fabulous display of wristwork and footwork.

Destined for greater things

Ever so rarely, young cricketers reach the highest of stages already earmarked for greatness. Even before they face a ball, there is an aura around them, and it could go either way. They either embrace it or let it get to them. So far, Litchfield has shown she is very much in the former category, not just with her skills but with her temperament too. Her first reaction, in fact, after the century on Tuesday was to say, “I have good batters around me.”

There is a video of a 16-year-old Litchfield batting in the nets for New South Wales, showing the range of her shots – including the now familiar drive through the offside and reverse sweep – that went viral on social media in 2019. She was still in school then, but anyone who saw that video, knew they were watching someone special.

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After her debut against Pakistan, she was asked about being in the limelight so soon in her career. “I try not to think too much about it,” she had said. “It probably comes on when I fail a bit more and I look back and go, ‘am I as good as, you know, everyone says I am?’ but I think it’s just down to watching the ball at the end of the day and once I get on the field, it goes away which is nice.”

As 2024 begins, few people will have doubts over the talent that Litchfield is, as she showed emphatically that she’s here to stay.

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