Phoebe Litchfield was grinning from the moment she pulled on her Aussie shirt on Thursday, before starring in their series opener against New Zealand

When Phoebe Litchfield was asked what role she was expecting to play in Australia’s T20I batting line-up over the coming weeks, she made sure she added a qualifier to her answer: “If I play…” 

The 21-year-old was making sure she wasn’t putting the cart before the horse after a six-month break between matches, in a squad where selection headaches are chronic. 

But after she steered Australia out of trouble and to victory in Mackay with a career-best 64 not out on Thursday night, an innings of calm and self-assurance that belied her 21 years, it seems unlikely national selectors will consider Litchfield’s inclusion an “if” any time soon. 

It was the second T20I half-century of Litchfield’s short career, and she became the second youngest Australian woman to score multiple fifties in the format, behind the legendary Meg Lanning. 

Her 43-ball blitz was classic Litchfield: a combination of traditional shots executed with textbook precision, and the unconventional, including the reverse sweep that is already her trademark. 

The only scare came early in her innings when she survived a close lbw call against star New Zealand spinner Amelia Kerr, a moment that Litchfield suggested later had helped her focus on the task at hand.  

“I think it was probably a risk I didn’t need to take that early against Kerr,” Litchfield told reporters after hitting the winning runs – via a reverse sweep, of course – that sealed Australia’s five-wicket win. 

“I had to realise that she’s their main (weapon) and I just had to take the medicine off her and then attack the other bowlers.  

“The way Tahlia (McGrath) and Georgia (Wareham) helped me out there was good … it was just about knowing my 100 per cent options.  

“I love to just experiment in the nets and it’s nice to practice that and then try it out in the middle.  

“It sometimes looks a bit silly when I get it wrong, but whenever the off-side’s up, (the reverse) is such an asset for myself, in order to pinch that fifth gap.  

“With that, and then my conventional shots, it’s nice to have them (all) come off in the middle.” 

Both Australia and New Zealand went into the game without key players, with White Ferns captain Sophie Devine deemed not yet fully recovered from the ankle injury she picked up in The Hundred, while Australia lost Ashleigh Gardner minutes before the toss after she collided with teammate Wareham during a warm-up game. 

Gardner did not fail a concussion test, but with a history of head knocks sat out as a precaution and she will continue to be monitored ahead of Sunday’s second T20I. 

New Zealand batter Maddy Green said Devine, who completed a lengthy running session prior to Thursday’s game, was not far off a return, which could come as early as that next game. 

Her inclusion would be a significant boost for New Zealand, who are now on a record eight-match losing streak in T20Is and who have not won a game in any format since March.  

“She was training before the game and she’s near full fitness for us, so we’re really hopeful that she’s going to be available for the rest of the series,” Green said. 

CommBank T20I Series v New Zealand   

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

First T20: Australia defeated New Zealand by five wickets

Second T20: September 22, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 7.10pm

Third T20: September 24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 7.10pm