‘I look up to her’: Phoebe Litchfield learning from captain Alyssa Healy at Women’s Cricket World Cup

Phoebe Litchfield may go on to become an all-time batting star for Australia, but for the moment the young gun is simply enjoying the best view in the house as her fellow opener and skipper shows her the path to success.

Litchfield watched in awe from the other end as Alyssa Healy first caned India on Sunday then Bangladesh on Wednesday for thrilling back-to-back centuries that have helped to push the champions into the semi-finals in their Women’s Cricket World Cup title defence.

At just 22, the elegant but thoroughly modern left-hander Litchfield looks to be coming of age at this event.

She might have reached her first World Cup century herself on Wednesday if Healy hadn’t turned on the after-burners with victory in sight during their dazzling 202-run partnership.

Litchfield said she was getting a rare education as she watched Healy first go past 7,000 career international runs – only the third Australian to do so after Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry – while becoming the first woman to rack up back-to-back World Cup centuries in two separate tournaments.

“Seven thousand? That’s an amazing achievement. That’s a lot of runs,” Litchfield said.

“But seeing that from the other end and at training, and just even being able to play with her, it’s such a huge honour.

“Just to see how her brain clicks and how she goes about scoring runs, I look up to her a lot.

“Especially that mind-frame of going hard at the ball and being attacking, I learn a lot off that.

“Midge is in awesome form. Back-to-back hundreds? It reminds me of another tournament she did that in – so it’s good signs.”

Litchfield and Healy were in cracking form as they raced to victory over Bangladesh. Photograph: Mahesh Kumar A/AP

Litchfield had not yet made her Australia debut when she watched Healy crack 129 in the semi-finals and 170 in the final to power the 2022 World Cup side to victory in New Zealand. So she hopes the skipper’s reprise in India could be an omen.

In the three years since, Litchfield taken to the stage naturally, amassing 1,738 international runs. But only really in the past few months has she felt she is consistently getting the best out of her ability.

Since August, while being crowned MVP of the Women’s Hundred tournament in England, she’s cracked 568 runs in 12 knocks at an average of 71. In the last month alone since arriving in India, she’s hit 338 runs at 67.6 per innings, spearheading Australia’s charge.

She said her unbeaten 84 against Bangladesh hadn’t been her most fluent innings. “But it’s more meaningful to get through those kind of innings compared to when you’re on a flattie,” she said of the Test.

“The challenges of adapting to each conditions is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned, and it’s put me in good stead for the next few fixtures.”

Next up are England in Indore on Wednesday, with Australia safe in the knowledge their semi-final spot is already safe.

“To know in the back of our minds we’re in the semis gives us confidence to go in to that England game and put another good performance on the board,” says Litchfield.

“We know that even though we came off the Ashes, winning 16-0, they’ll come pretty hard in a few days time. So pretty excited for that.”