“Watch the ball”.
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It was a mantra Ricky Ponting repeated to himself twice every delivery bowled to him, once at the top of the mark and again as the ball was released.
Steve Waugh’s plan for batting was the same – just watch it.
To be fair, that’s the plan for anyone who picks up a bat, but a lot are just aren’t particularly good at keeping their eye on the ball nor deciding what to do with once the time comes.
Kinross’ Phoebe Litchfield has neither of those problems, in fact she’s the complete opposite.
The Kinross young gun is fresh off being the highest run-scorer in the Cricket Australia Under-18 Women’s National Championship, and despite only being 15 she’s booked her ticket to New Zealand with the under-19 national side in March.
“I’m really stoked,” Litchfield said of her selection.
“It’s pretty surprising I got named in the side to be honest, I’m happy and all the hard work has paid off now.”
On numbers alone, Litchfield’s selection is a no-brainer – she topped the runs with 348 at 43.50 including a magnificent ton against Victoria Country – but even so, she admitted she wasn’t expecting to be picked considering her age.
“I sort of thought it was going to be surprising because they’re older, stronger, more developed but I don’t know … there were so many good players in the 19s,” she said.
“[Scoring runs] just happened, some days you could just get out cheaply and the whole carnival could go really badly but for me I was lucky enough to score some runs which was good.”
As to how she scores them, she said she doesn’t think about it too much – it’s a case of see ball, hit ball.
I don’t really have a routine, I just watch the ball and hit the ball.
- Phoebe Litchfield, making batting sound easy
“Runs just tick over regularly and I can take my chances as they come and don’t get out, because when you get out you can’t bat any more,” she explained.
“I don’t really have a routine, I just watch the ball and hit the ball.”
It’s a simple technique but it clearly works, because it’s not just that level where she’s shone this summer.
Litchfield is also averaging 41.3 across her Orange District Cricket Association games and 46.6 for Parramatta in the NSW Women’s Premier Cricket competition too.
The 14-strong Australian squad will play four games against the New Zealand Emerging Players outfit in March and Litchfield say she’s just hoping to soak up the experience, whether she plays or not.
“I might be the drinks runner … it just depends who they play. I reckon I’ll have a few games off,” she said.
Does that bother her?
“Not at all, at least I’m in the side, I could be sitting at home doing nothing so I’m just excited to play,” she beamed.
“I’ll back my ability and see how it goes.”
The first of four tour matches kicks off on March 12, when Litchfield’s Aussies face the Kiwis in a 50-over clash at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
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