India had not seen much of the Australian batter Phoebe Litchfield.
She was the first player to come up for bidding at the 2024 WPL auction. When she was sold for INR 1 crore (USD 120,000 approx) to Gujarat Giants, many wondered why she'd gone for a huge price.
Litchfield isn't unknown in the cricketing world. When she was 16, she became a social media sensation after a video of her playing cover drives at the New South Wales nets went viral in 2019. She's played memorable knocks at the domestic level and in the WBBL. She scored an unbeaten 106 in a massive win against Ireland in June. She also showed Pakistan her big-hitting skills. India's Jemimah Rodrigues, whom Litchfield has played with at Northern Superchargers in the Women's Hundred, has seen what she's capable of. And so have Giants and UP Warriorz, who tussled for her at the WPL auction table.
After making a quiet international debut in India last December, 20-year old Litchfield announced herself in the country with a crucial innings in a tough chase in Mumbai. During her 78 off 89 balls in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium, where players from both sides struggled in the heat and humidity, Litchfield showed she was capable of handling such conditions, especially with the next ODI World Cup to be played in India in 2025.
"The WPL auction was pretty cool," Litchfield said after the match. "I think to play in India, I'd come for free. It was so cool to be picked up [in the auction]. So I'm really excited for that. And then to be over here for the Test match [one-off Test] in India for the first time, it was an awesome experience and one I'll never forget.
"To have a win today is sort of the icing on the cake for a good December. I think any experience you get on these pitches and these arenas is so good for our cricket. Any time in the middle is good."
Litchfield has quickly established herself as a batter capable of being effective at any position in the order. On ODI debut earlier this year, she scored an unbeaten 78 at the top of the order against Pakistan in Brisbane, followed by 67 not out in the second ODI. An Ashes call-up followed, and she contributed 46 in the second innings to Australia's victory in the one-off Test in Nottingham. She became the second youngest Australian woman to hit an ODI century when she scored a 106* against Ireland in July.
Litchfield found success in the T20I format too when she scored the joint-fastest fifty, off 18 balls, coming in at No. 6 against West Indies in October. Throw in her excellent performances at the Women's Hundred and the WBBL, where she plays for Sydney Thunder, and she's had a year to remember.
But how does she assess her 2023?
"It's been a challenge, to put it frankly," Litchfield said. "I think the Ashes was a really big learning curve for me and then to score runs in Ireland was enjoyable, but yeah, I think Indian conditions is a whole different beast. It's a really good challenge, but also enjoyable. [I'm] pretty happy with the score."
On Thursday, Litchfield teamed up with Ellyse Perry for the second wicket to set up a the highest successful chase away from home in women's ODIs. She was cautious early on but grew in confidence as the innings progressed - her 78 metre six over bowler Renuka Singh's head in the ninth over was a highlight - to put the pressure back on India's bowlers. She also used the sweep and the reverse sweep to good effect against the spinners.
"Reverse sweep's probably one of my get-out-of-jail shots if I need to score a four or release some pressure," she said. "I usually go to that shot if there's some space there. I think in the Test match it probably wasn't the greatest scenario to bring out the reverse sweep. I definitely learnt from that. I think if you know we're 200 runs ahead, you can bring out the reverse sweep. So we've had chats about that and I learnt from it. But I felt it's a strength of mine and I like to play it, so I brought it out today."
At the other end, the experienced Perry batted aggressively at the start of the partnership. The duo added 148 runs in 150 balls to take Australia past half the target. Perry, however, battled cramps in the middle of her innings, a sight that reminded Litchfield of Glenn Maxwell during his sensational knock at the same venue against Afghanistan in the men's ODI World Cup in November.
"She started to cramp in her calves, which was quite a funny thing... I sort of got flashbacks to Glenn Maxwell's innings," Litchfield said. "She just was pretty much like cramping here, probably struggling a bit, but she was hitting the ball. I think she cramped and then she hit a six down the ground. So, that's Ellyse Perry for you. She sort of just took the game on a bit more after she started cramping, because she was like, 'I probably won't be out here for long'."
Litchfield has had a pretty perfect year in international cricket, but she's identified areas she needs to improve in: scoring off more balls, taking the game on "a bit more", and more importantly, "not getting out on 80".