News, Canberra – Phoebe Litchfield says Australia’s top-order must shoulder “ownership” after a limp batting display in Sydney left the home side one defeat away from their first bilateral T20I series loss on Australian soil since 2017.
Australia were rolled for 122 in 18 overs at the SCG, India strolling home with 26 balls unused in what doubled as Sophie Molineux’s first outing as stand-in captain. Litchfield, back from a short-lived WPL stint that ended with a minor quad strain, moved from 0 off her first eight deliveries to 26 from 19 but her dismissal triggered a slide of 3 for 12. The tail then fell away – the last five wickets worth only 12 – leaving leg-spinner Georgia Wareham the unlikely top-scorer with 30.
Reflecting on that collapse ahead of Thursday’s second match in Canberra, the 23-year-old was blunt. “I think just some ownership with the bat. I reckon that’s probably where we fell short,” she said. “It’s tough to look too much into that game because it was rained out, but I think we started off really well. We were still going at eights … it’s just we ran out of batters.”
Key facts first
• Australia trail the three-match T20I series 1-0.
• Last home bilateral defeat came nine years ago against England.
• Only three T20Is had been played since March, the calendar dominated by the 50-over World Cup.
• The next T20 World Cup begins in June; just five scheduled T20Is remain before then.
What went wrong in Sydney?
Rain shortened the contest to 18 overs a side, but Australia still enjoyed a platform at 72 for 2 after ten overs. Then Arundhati Reddy’s cutters and Pooja Vastrakar’s skiddy seamers exposed a middle order that seemed to wait for somebody else to finish the job. “I think just a bit more ownership as a batting unit and hopefully we can either set a big score or chase a big score,” Litchfield noted. “I think all of us batters have reflected pretty clearly on that and keen to rectify things on Thursday.”
Role juggling and rust
Australia’s lack of recent T20 cricket showed. The ODI World Cup consumed the winter and forced players into shifting roles that can blur clarity. “I think a lot of us play T20 cricket all around the year, but we’re all in different spots throughout the year,” Litchfield explained. “Some people open, some people bat three, and then in our team there’s only one [number] three and there’s only one [number] one. I guess it’s adapting to your new role.”
She believes the squad’s depth should iron out that rust quickly. “We know how to put the team before ourselves and I think that’s something that we do very well. Being able to adapt our games to the Aussie side is something that the team has had to do for years. I wouldn’t say it’s a challenge, but I think it’s something that we’ve gotten really good at with the hectic schedule these days.”
Keeping gloves on the horizon
Beyond the immediate series, Litchfield has spent extra time with former Test captain Tim Paine sharpening her wicketkeeping – a contingency as Alyssa Healy nears retirement and Beth Mooney prepares to assume the gloves full-time. Tournament squads are capped at 15, so a batter-keeper offers valuable flexibility.
“You’ve got to have more strings to your bow,” she said. “I love fielding, don’t get me wrong, but I think moving forward, I’ve always kept at home back in Orange with the men’s cricket, and [want to] keep that skill up if need be. But definitely not trying to—”
She broke off, smiling, the implication clear: she is not pushing Mooney aside, merely making herself useful.
Looking ahead
The second match, under lights at Manuka Oval, doubles as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup, where similar late-evening conditions are expected in Bangladesh. Australia are also set to play three T20Is in the West Indies and three unofficial warm-ups against South Africa in England before the tournament. For now, though, the brief is simple: bat with intent, finish the job, take the series to a decider.
If Litchfield’s words translate into runs, Australia might just avoid that unwanted slice of history.
