Australian fans were treated to a peek at what the next decade could look like on Friday night, as Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield put India to the sword at Bellerive Oval.
The 22-year-olds came together with Australia 1-21 having lost the most prolific run scorer in their XI, opener Alyssa Healy, and across the next 15.4 overs took control of the chase during their 119-run stand.
Litchfield’s charge ended on 80, but Voll carried on to post triple figures for the second time in an ODI career that is still just nine innings old.
“It was just playing down the ground for as long as we can, we were getting enough to hit,” Voll said of how she and Litchfield tackled the chase.
“We just said, ‘We don’t need to do anything silly’ and I think I pulled out the ramp, and she’s like, ‘We just spoke about not doing anything like that’.
“It was just chipping away at that total, building that big partnership to break the back of the chase, and then with (Beth Mooney) coming in, forming another partnership (with her).
“It’s obviously very important in one-day cricket to build those partnerships, and that’s what we’ve spoken about in these games, so it’s nice to be able to tick that off.”
Voll’s chance in the Australia XI only came after Ellyse Perry was ruled out of the ODIs with a quad strain, which saw the Toowoomba product drafted into her role at No.3.
However, Healy’s impending retirement means Voll will be installed as Litchfield’s opening partner in the ODI side during next month’s tour of the West Indies.
From there, they will hope to emulate the success of some of Australia’s most iconic, and prolific, opening pairs: Healy and Rachael Haynes, and Belinda Clark and Lisa Keightley.
“Sometimes I’ve just got to get out of the way and let the young kids do their thing,” a laughing Healy said on broadcast following the match.
“That’s the future, right? That’s the future of this Australian cricket team moving forward, that top order.
“To see them go about their business tonight, especially Phoebe and the way she took it on early and got herself set and gave us a real opportunity was outstanding, so kudos to them both.”
Of course, it is very early days for the pair – who first opened together in the green and gold for an underage Cricket Australia XI in their mid-teens – but the signs are promising.
After batting together on six occasions in one-dayers, Voll and Litchfield have shared two century stands, another fifty stand, and average 60.5 together.
“I think she makes my job very easy,” Voll said. “I think every time that I bat with Pheebs, I feel like I’ve got a weight lifted off my shoulders.
“The way that she attacks the game, she was flying, and I could sit back and watch and just feed her the strike a little bit, and then when I found some momentum, she did the same for me.
“It’s always nice to bat with Pheebs, I think we just love batting with each other.
“The opportunity to play for Australia together is something that we’ve wanted for a long time.”
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
Australia lead the multi-format series 6-4
First T20I: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
Second T20I: Australia won by 19 runs
Third T20I: India won by 17 runs
Australia ODI squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal
February 24: Australia won by six wickets
February 27: Australia won by five wickets
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
Australia Test squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20pm AEDT (D/N)
