Phoebe Litchfield wants to hit more sixes as her international star rises

Batting phenom Phoebe Litchfield has been hitting the gym and it paid off big-time with a world record batting effort.

Evolution is key for Australia to maintain its place as world cricket’s powerhouse team and the rise of batting prodigy Phoebe Litchfield and her work to get bigger and better is a strong signal the future is in good hands.

When the West Indies smashed a record run-chase at North Sydney Oval on Monday night, blasting 213 to win by seven wickets, a message was served to the Australians that the world was coming.

But before the Windies batters went berserk, 20-year-old Litchfield blasted an 18-ball half-century, the equal fastest in the history of women’s cricket, making her own statement having been handed an unfamiliar role.

A top-order batter by trade, having opened in her Test debut during the Ashes as well as in her eight ODIs, the left-hander was thrust into the role of middle-order slugger, preferred to big-hitting Grace Harris.

Phoebe Litchfield bats at North Sydney Oval. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Litchfield whacked five sixes in her 19-ball, unbeaten innings of 52 batting at number six, coming after she made a name for herself in The Hundred in the UK, where she finished as the tournament’s third highest scorer with 279 runs at a strike rate of 132.85 for Northern Superchargers.

Australian captain Alyssa Healy said the growing confidence Litchfield was showing at international level, having also blasted her maiden ODI century against Ireland, made her a growing force.

“I think she‘s always had the talent, she’s always had the skill,” Healy said after Monday night’s performance.

“It‘s just learning about when to play the shots and what’s the right one at the right time.

“But I think she‘s gained some confidence at the international level – scoring a hundred in Ireland helps opening the batting.

“Coming back home to Australia, to get an opportunity which she may not thought she might get first up, to grab that with both hands tonight hopefully gives her the confidence to know that we do back her and we‘ve got the belief that she can do exactly that.”

Litchfield gets her chance to back up that effort in the series-deciding T20 at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Thursdays night and said it was reward for her hard work, and efforts to hit more sixes, which has included lifting more weights.

“It was a bit of a crazy innings. I only cleared the rope by 30cms each time, but I’ll take it,” she said on Wednesday.

“I have been practising that power hitting and getting a bit more free in my T20 game, it’s a bit more rewarding to put that performance on the board.

“I have been lifting weights, but not sure how that correlates to hitting balls, I don’t think so. When I am timing the ball the best it goes further.

“So it’s not just about getting bigger.”