‘It’s all white noise’: How Phoebe Litchfield has dodged the hype to become Australia’s next superstar

She’s been the talk of the town since she was 16, but Phoebe Litchfield has found a way to block out the outside noise.

She’s the young gun who has been earmarked as the next superstar of Australian cricket, but Phoebe Litchfield has shown that the future is already here with another dazzling knock to open her WBBL campaign.

The 20-year-old hit an effortless 54 off just 28 deliveries in the Thunder’s big win over their cross-town rivals on Sunday evening, with Litchfield bringing up her half-century with back-to-back sixes to close the innings.

That knock came weeks after she blasted the equal-fastest 50 in a women’s international T20 fixture off just 18 deliveries against the West Indies, with her meteoric rise to the Australian side playing a key role in her rapid development.

Litchfield described her international experience as “massive”, with the youngster making her ODI and Test debuts this year having already represented Australia in 2022 during a T20 series in India.

Phoebe Litchfield’s time with the national squad has helped evolve her game. Picture: David Gray / AFP

“It’s my first sort of dig in it, so training, playing and picking the brains of all these amazing players and then playing against all these good players is all helping my technique and my shot play,” she said.

“I’m definitely looking at new pockets to score and I’m having a lot of fun.”

The left-hander made her Thunder debut when she was just 16 and showed her potential with a 50 in her second WBBL game that only heightened the hype.

That has followed her everywhere she’s gone since then, but Litchfield has remained grounded with her focus fully on the Thunder.

“I don’t think about it too much, to be honest,” she said.

“It’s all white noise.

“I just go out there and play cricket. If I was struggling to score runs and going ‘oh my god I suck’, then maybe it would fester in my mind a little bit.

“I’m just liking playing cricket at the moment, so it doesn’t faze me too much.”

Litchfield and the Thunder are off to a flying start in the WBBL, with the left-hander smashing an unbeaten half-century in the Sydney derby. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

The Thunder is coming off a horror season where they won just one game, but they showed against the Sixers that they are a completely new team, with their international stars playing a key role in the win.

Their next game is on Thursday at their home base Cricket Central, although Litchfield has one eye on November 6 when she gets to return to North Sydney Oval where she’s been piling on the runs for fun.

“It’s the only ground where I can clear the rope,” she joked.

“I sort of clear it by one or two metres each time, so I love it here and the short boundaries certainly play into my favour.

“It feels good coming off the bat, and I can come into situations where I can play so freely.

“I’m striking them as well I have been in (a while).”