Phoebe Johnston and Holly Reed praised by Andrew Litchfield after Country Championships

Andrew Litchfield - father of current NSW Breaker Phoebe Litchfield - coach the under 16s Western women's team that competed in the Country Championships last week.

The Western side one three of its four games, with the only defeat coming against eventual champions the ACT Southern Districts.

"They're a group that train together two times a week and play a lot of games together," Litchfield said.

"We as a group might get together once a month if we're lucky. I think had we met them after a couple of games it might have been a different result, but congratulations to the ACT team on actually winning it."

Johnston finished the carnival as her side's leading wicket taker (five at 7.8) and Litchfield thinks she could be destined for great things should she continue to develop.

"Phoebe bowls left hand leg spin and she's really only been doing that for a year or so," he said.

"She spins the ball, bounces the ball and took five wickets there. Interestingly the first two were both great catches taken by Holly Reed. Without that support in the field, often spin bowlers don't take wickets."

Although Reed's contributions didn't show up in the stat sheet, Litchfield knows how valuable the experience will be for her down the line.

"Holly bats really nicely as well, but probably didn't get as many opportunities as she will over the next four years," he said.

"You might not get to take wickets and you might not even get to have a bat but if you can field really well which both of them do at a young age, then you can basically fit into any side.

"They were the youngest and they're both very talented cricketers, very talented sportspeople and really fortunate to have them in the program. Both of them will hopefully be in the side for at least the next three or four years. They could both do anything if they want to keep going with the game."

But they weren't the only ones to impress the coach.

Ellen Dolbel recently moved to Orange from Parkes and was a rock in the middle-order.

Ellen is a really good hockey player and is another one who played really well and has a couple more years at this level," Litchfield added.

"It's very exciting. She crosses over from hockey really well and the sports aren't that different in that you need great hand eye and quick hands and she has those."

With players like Reed, Johnston and Dolbel, Litchfield knows the west is in good hands for years to come.

"We're incredibly lucky to have those people well supported by their parents," he added.

"Cricket-wise, they played some fabulous cricket, they're all good athletes so everything is very bright for women's cricket in the Western Zone."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: