‘Need to remind myself that I'm potentially playing it’ - Phoebe Litchfield opens up on her dream Ashes debut

Ahead of the one-off Women's Ashes Test, slated to begin on June 22, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield expressed her excitement in featuring for her national side in the crucial contest. Notably, the southpaw opened for the Aussies against England A in the warm-up match and is likely to keep her position in the solitary Test.

With the retirement of Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning’s withdrawal due to medical reasons, everything points towards Litchfield opening the batting. For what could potentially mark her debut in the Test format, Litchfield is prepared to grab her opportunities rather than being daunted by the prospect of playing against the English side.

"I still feel like I'm going to watch the Ashes, I need to remind myself that I'm potentially playing it. I'm so excited, can't put it into words. The T20 tour to India and the Pakistan series here were amazing highlights but think there's an added layer to the Ashes. If the opportunity to open arises, I'll definitely grab it. It's probably the best position," Litchfield told ESPNcricinfo.

I'm excited at the prospect of batting all day, keen to give it a crack: Litchfield

The 20-year-old further stated that she has put in the hard yards in the net sessions and is working on her craft of batting. The southpaw added that with the appreciation she has received regarding her batting, she is keen to take up new challenges, one of which is 'batting all day'. 

"You can't look perfect all the time; not that I want to look perfect but leading into one-day cricket and the [Ashes] practice matches, I've been working hard on the technique because that's what gets found out, especially over in England with the swinging ball. Now that I've got an added appreciation of batting and really enjoying it, I'm excited at the prospect of batting all day. Whether my mind can do it, we'll see, but keen to give it a crack," she added.

Litchfield has featured in three ODIs and two T20Is thus far, and collected 154 runs and 11 runs, respectively. She will be hungry to play a pivotal role for the Aussies in the forthcoming one-off Test against the English side.