Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was extremely impressed by the way young Phoebe Litchfield played in the Sydney derby in the Women’s Big Bash League. She scored 46 off just 36 balls and brought Sydney Thunder to the brink of an unlikely victory against the Sydney Sixers. What was impressive to see was her reverse sweeps, which reminded the cricketing fraternity of the way England skipper Eoin Morgan plays. The similarity in their shots and follow-through is what caught the eye of thc cricket fans. Ashwin even went on to re-tweet the highlights of Phoebe Litchfield’s innings.
????? https://t.co/P6N0YC2kNI
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) November 19, 2020
Phoebe Litchfield’s 46 almost won the game for Sydney Thunder
Sydney Sixers batted first and thanks to a quickfire 44 off just 22 from Alyssa Healy, got off to a fantastic start. The Sydney Thunder bowlers pulled things back nicely and restricted the Sixers to a score of 147-7 in their 20 overs. Needing 148 runs to win, Sydney Thunder were in a spot of bother at 45-3 when Phoebe Litchfield came out to bat. She first tried to consolidate the innings by trying to form a partnership with the other batters.
But as wickets kept on tumbling at the other end, Phoebe Litchfield knew that she had to take the game deep in order for the Thunder to have any chance of winning it. Thunder needed 66 in the last six overs when Phoebe Litchfield realised it was time for her to cut loose. She began playing an array of reverse sweeps that were too hot to handle for the opposition. She began taking calculative risks and found gaps at regular intervals, playing shots all around the dial.
With 18 runs required off the last over, Litchfield smashed consecutive boundaries and took the game to the last ball. Although she couldn’t hit the last ball for a six, her efforts were well recognized by the team and the cricketing fraternity.
