After her sensational Women's Big Bash League debut weekend Phoebe Litchfield has been named in ACT-NSW Country's squad for January's Cricket Australia Under-18 National Championship, a tournament she absolutely dominated last summer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Her incredible showing for the Sydney Thunder last weekend put the women's cricketing world on notice, but for those paying closer attention it was last summer's national championship where she first rocketed into the spotlight.
After being given a chance in the Cricket Australia XI she promptly topped the run-scorers list with 348 at 43.5, including a sparkling ton against Victoria Country, and earned an Australian under-19 gig as a result.
Hopefully I can go, if it worked out it would be good to go back and play with my mates there.
- Phoebe Litchfield, on the under-18 national championship
While she headlines the ACT-NSW squad that was released on Wednesday morning alongside a NSW Metro group brimming with WBBL stars, whether Litchfield returns to the championship to back up last summer's effort looks the prudent question.
The under-18 titles will be played in Tasmania between January 13 and 23 next year and while the WBBL will be well and truly finished by then, it does clash with the Women's National Cricket League which resumes on January 6.
Litchfield's NSW Breakers have a handful of games scheduled in the lead-up to or during the national championship, including fixtures against Queensland on January 22 and then the ACT on January 23.
"Hopefully I can go, if it worked out it would be good to go back and play with my mates there," the 16-year-old said.
"Maybe it'll work out that I'll be able to play some of those games (for ACT-NSW Country) before the WNCL games. But given the choice WNCL would take priority, and I'm not sure it'd be my decision anyway."
Her ACT-NSW Country selection comes after last weekend's effort also landed her the inaugural nomination for this summer's WBBL05 Rebel Young Gun award, one nominee will be released after each weekend and the overall winner announced at tournament's end.
She did admit her dream debut on Friday and history-making showing on Sunday have plonked a touch more pressure on her shoulders, she's hoping to rise to the challenge in this weekend's double header against the two Melbourne sides though.
With a win and a loss, the Renegades sit above the Thunder on net run rate while the Stars remain winless in the competition's cellar.
"There is a bit more pressure there now so I think it's just about working even harder to improve, Twenty20's a tough game and I'll need to keep working on different ways to score so I can play my role for the team," Litchfield said.
"This weekend will be tough, hopefully we can keep our winning form going but both the Melbourne sides will come out firing obviously."
The Thunder take on the Renegades at Blacktown International Sportspark from 7pm on Saturday night before hosting the Stars at Bankstown Oval from 2pm on Sunday.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS AND SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
