Phoebe Litchfield conceded she felt “scratchy” throughout her breakthrough first World Cup half-century, but says finishing unbeaten alongside her skipper has been a timely confidence boost heading into the business end of the tournament.
The 22-year-old opener may have felt frustration doing her unbeaten 84 from 72 deliveries against Bangladesh at Visakhapatnam on Thursday, however that was not apparent for those watching from the sidelines as she struck 12 fours and a six as she helped Alyssa Healy chase a target of 198 in under 25 overs.
The left-hander’s breakthrough innings followed scores of 45, 10 and 40 across Australia’s first three games of the tournament.
Speaking ahead of Australia’s departure for Indore, Litchfield pointed to the constant changing venues, conditions and opponents as the biggest learning curve of her first ODI World Cup.
“As a batter, any runs is good runs, (but) I was a bit scratchy the other night,” Litchfield said.
“The tournament’s been super challenging in terms of different conditions.
“Each game has offered something different, and each opponent offers something different … so World Cups are no easy feat, and as a batter, you’ve got to adapt.
“Some days you feel good. I felt amazing in the New Zealand game and even the other day against India, but against Bangladesh, that was probably more of a scratchy innings, but runs are runs, and I think it’s more meaningful to get through those kind of innings compared to when you’re on a heater.
“The challenges of adapting to each conditions is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned, and hopefully put me in good stead for the next few fixtures.”
Litchfield is known for being her own toughest critic, but she now averages 86.16 in ODIs in India, having hit 517 runs at a strike rate of 96.81 across her seven 50-over innings in the subcontinent nation since 2023.
She scored a century at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in early 2024, while she also started this tour on a high note scoring 88 in the first bilateral ODI against India in New Chandigarh last month.
A quad niggle ruled her out of the second and third one-dayers, but Litchfield said it had not hampered preparation for the ICC tournament, where she said she has been drawing inspiration from Healy’s attacking approach at the top of the order.
“I felt pretty good in that first ODI against India, and then the practice match against England, felt like I was timing the ball well, so I didn’t think (the quad) halted it too much to be fair,” Litchfield said.
“I’m finding it’s probably just more the decision making and the mental game, rather than whether it’s coming out of the middle or not.
“To see how (Healy’s) brain clicks and how she goes about scoring runs, I look up to her a lot, and especially in the mind frame of going hard at the ball and being attacking. I’ve learnt from her around that.
“Midge is in awesome form, back-to-back hundreds, it reminds me of another tournament she did that … I think the group’s in a really good spot, everyone is contributing at different times.”
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Australia were the first team to cement their spot in the semi-finals, doing so with two matches remaining against England and South Africa, both in Indore.
However, they will likely still have to wait until the final two round games have been played on October 26 before they know where, and when, they will play their semi-final final.
India, should they qualify, will feature in the second semi-final in Navi Mumbai on October 30, with the other semi on October 29 almost certain to be played in Guwahati, given Pakistan’s position on the bottom of the table means it is incredibly unlikely they will progress, which would have seen that game played in Colombo.
“It’s really cool for our group to tick that off and go in (to the rest of the tournament) with some confidence,” Litchfield said of securing a semis spot.
“(We’re) definitely not settling, even though we’ve got a spot, but to have that in the back of our minds gives us confidence going into that England game to put another good performance on the board hopefully.”
2025 Women’s ODI World Cup
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
Australia’s group stage matches
October 1: Australia beat New Zealand by 89 runs
October 4: v Sri Lanka: Abandoned without a ball bowled
October 8: Australia beat Pakistan by 107 runs
October 12: Australia beat India by 3 wickets
October 16: Australia beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets
October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
Finals
Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT
Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT
Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT
All matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Prime Video.
* All games involving Pakistan to be played in Colombo, including the semi-final and final if they qualify