Phoebe Litchfield grew up idolising Australian captain Alyssa Healy.

Now, the 20-year-old prodigy from Orange is opening the batting alongside her, and will be an integral part of the Australian team aiming to secure an ODI series victory over South Africa at North Sydney Oval on Wednesday.

“I’ve looked up to Midge [Healy] for pretty much my whole childhood, so to be opening the batting with her is awesome,” she said.

“Whenever I’m under pressure I’ll just look at her, and she’ll give me a little nod or a thumbs up, and it’s really nice to have that calming presence at the other end. I’ve found it was definitely very similar to Meg [Lanning] when I batted with her once or twice.”

Litchfield, along with Healy and allrounder Ashleigh Gardner, is yet another NSW player who has solidified her spot in the Australian side across all three formats.

“When they said I’d be opening, it was a big shock. I thought I’d start [the same] as I started my domestic career, sort of in the middle order and then work my way up,” she said.

“So to be sort of put in the top order straight away was a surprise, but a challenge, nonetheless, and I [thought], ‘There’s nothing to lose’. That mentality sort of got me through a couple of innings and [I] started to feel more comfortable, and then started to put some scores together and start[ed] to solidify my place.”

After making her Australian debut against India as a teenager in 2022, Litchfield was dropped from the T20 team for the 2023 World Cup in South Africa. She earned her place back in the side for the matches against West Indies in October last year, where she took on a new role as a middle-order finisher.