After batting with West Indies legend Brian Lara playing in one of the most star-studded games of cricket ever played, the 17-year-old was able to watch the highest-attended women's sporting event in history - the Women's World Cup final at the MCG.

That was coming off a whirlwind Women's Big Bash League debut season, in which at 16 the Kinross product became the youngest batter - male or female - to record a half-century for the Sydney Thunder in the BBL.

However, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Litchfield - like sports stars across the world - was forced into a form of hibernation.

Her under 19s tour of South Africa was cancelled, and travel restrictions made life a bit more difficult - although she's been far luckier than her Melbournian and Victorian counterparts.

This month, she's back in the field as the WBBL returns, with a five-week competition run in the hub in Sydney.

Five weeks, locked in with some of the best players in the world. Is she excited? You bet. Will she spend every minute of every day badgering the likes of Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy? Maybe not.

"I'm trying not to be annoying but it'd be nice to have some conversations with some of the best players in the world," she said.

"If you go in you can't come out, so I'll be in there for the full month or five weeks.

"After three weeks I might be a bit sick of it but I'm excited."

If you're wondering how anyone who lives and breathes cricket like Litchfield could possibly be sick of living in a bubble with some of the world's best players, the 17-year-old has a simple answer: school.

"I'll be doing school online, so I might struggle a bit for motivation," she said, laughing.

She won't be alone, either. An astonishing eight of Litchfield's 13 fellow Sydney Thunder squad members are under the age of 20, with veterans Alex Blackwell and Rene Farrell calling time on their careers after last season.

"We're really young, it's pretty crazy," she said.

"We're in a rebuilding phase and every club kind of goes through that. If these players stick around for the next 10 years we'll have an amazing side."

While there are a few senior heads around the place - including skipper and Australian regular Rachael Haynes - she said there weren't too many "in that middle range".

"It is odd ... we've got a lot of young girls and older heads. The older players around us do a really good job," she said.

She's not too stressed about expectations following her scintillating debut season with the Thunder, where she burst onto the scene and announced herself as a future star.

Litchfield thumped 187 runs across 11 matches in her debut season, anchoring the middle-order for the Thunder and proving a bright light in a difficult campaign for the lime green side.

She announced herself with a sizzling unbeaten 52, including some ramp shots and flicks making her look far more confident and older than the 16 she was at the time.

Litchfield was no slouch through the season either, hitting at a strike rate of 97 across her 11 matches against some of the best bowlers in the world.

Can she back it up?

"It's always tough going into a second season, there's a bit of added pressure but I'm not thinking too much about it," she said.

"If I stick with what I know I should be okay."

Litchfield said she's excited for the whirlwind season, which will have 14 matches crammed into just 28 days.

She's been able to spend the school holidays in Sydney training with the squad, and has been able to "train normally" since the nation-wide lockdown.

"We've had a few centre-wicket sessions and done a bit," she said.

"I've hit it out of the middle a few times, but I'm still a bit scratchy."

Litchfield was able to keep up her normal regime with father Andrew over winter, but the cancelled tour gave her the chance to do something she hasn't been able to do for some time - line up for a full season with CYMS in the Premier League Hockey.

"That was really good, really fun and gave me some added fitness," she said.

However, she's still ruing the missed tour, which she said was "pretty frustrating" to have cancelled - as much as she understood the pandemic made the tour impossible.

"Everyone's in the same boat, but I was pretty disappointed not to go - that tour looked like a lot of fun," she said.

"I don't get to play against players my age all that often, mainly playing against older people. It's good to get back to your own age."

She's not dwelling on it, though - Litchfield's mind is fixated on heading to the hub.

The Thunder's first game is a derby with the Sydney Sixers on October 25 from 1.45pm at North Sydney Oval - a match will be shown live on free-to-air TV.