Phoebe Litchfield is feeling at home at first drop in Australia’s T20I XI as she resettles into the role following the national side’s almost year-long 20-over drought.
Litchfield was installed at No.3 in the aftermath of Australia’s semi-final exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup, occupying the role in the six T20s the team played in 2025, against England and New Zealand last January and March.
That run included starts in all bar one of her innings, with a top score of 32 in Mount Maunganui.
The 22-year-old has long been a fixture in the Sydney Thunder’s top three, and has played a similar role in franchise cricket around the world in recent seasons, including for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred and for UP Warriorz in this year’s Women’s Premier League.
“I’m a bit more used to it than compared to this time last year in the Ashes,” Litchfield told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
“It’s a good challenge. I love it. It helps being able to bat around the likes of (openers) Beth Mooney and Georgia Voll, and (No.4) Ellyse Perry, it makes my job easy … I just want to get out there, take the game on and move the game forward.”
Australia will be out to draw level with India in the multi-format series in Thursday’s second T20I at Manuka Oval, with the spotlight on the batting group following an uncharacteristically shaky display in Sunday’s series opener.
Put into bat first at the SCG in their first T20I in 11 months, Australia looked to go hard at the India attack but fell to loose shots, and a failure to string meaningful partnerships together – combined with excellent discipline from the visitors – saw them all out for 133.
“I think (we need) some ownership with the bat,” Litchfield said. “I reckon that’s probably where we fell short … but I think all of us batters have reflected pretty clearly on that and are keen to rectify things on Thursday.”
Despite the long break between T20I series, Litchfield backed Australia to recapture the T20I form they displayed against England and New Zealand in early 2025, when they went on a six-match winning streak off the back of their disappointing end to the 2024 T20 World Cup.
It was that semi-final exit that prompted their commitment to playing more attacking in T20Is to make better use of their depth.
“We love taking the game on,” she said.
“We’ve spoken a lot about how we want to go about it after that World Cup in Dubai (in 2024), so it’s nice to put into practice the things we’ve been working on.
“Looking back to the Ashes last year, it was really exciting the way we were playing cricket, and especially in New Zealand as well.
“So we just want to go out there, play an attacking brand of cricket, entertain the fans, and hopefully have fun doing it.
“We’re motivated. I think that’s the best way to put it. We’re excited to bounce back positively, more for our own sake.
“We were pretty disappointed with the other night, so hopefully we can come out firing on Thursday and prove to ourselves that we’re capable of more.”
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
India lead the multi-format series 2-0
Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil
February 15: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
February 19: Second T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7:15pm AEDT
February 21: Third T20, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm AEDT
Australia ODI squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, 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
February 24: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 2:50pm AEDT
February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
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)
