![Phoebe Litchfield of the Sydney Thunder. Picture by Phil Hillyard Phoebe Litchfield of the Sydney Thunder. Picture by Phil Hillyard](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/36bc40d1-3219-493d-b7a0-25f9cfb2b5c4.jpg/r0_681_5892_3994_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Phoebe Litchfield never thought she'd be in this position.
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It was only three years ago the opener was in high school, playing simply for the love of cricket when she landed a contract with the Sydney Thunder and burst onto the scene.
In just her second match Litchfield became the youngest player to score a half-century in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
Now 19, she continues to be a standout for the Thunder with two half-centuries so far this season in what has been an otherwise tough trot for the women in green.
Litchfield said she's "immensely grateful" to the Thunder that she's been able to turn her passion into a job.
"I didn't really think this was a thing that could happen to be honest," she told The Canberra Times ahead of the Thunder's visit to Manuka Oval on Tuesday to face the Melbourne Renegades.
"It wasn't till I saw women's cricket on the TV that I thought, 'Oh yeah, I want to do that'. Then 16 came around, and I was contracted.
"That was a blur to be honest. The weekend I debuted I gained about 4000 followers on Instagram. I think 20 years ago they had nothing like this, so it's pretty cool."
The Thunder will take on the Adelaide Strikers in South Australia on Sunday before making the trip to the capital.
Litchfield is expecting plenty of familiar faces in the Canberra crowd, with some family roots in the region.
"Our family is from Orange but the rest of the Litchfield clan are down in Cooma just up the road," she said. "We have great grandparents in Canberra and grandparents and cousins in Cooma and every so often we'd go for Christmas, so I love that area.
"My grandma is coming over to watch the match which is nice and I've played at Manuka a few times so I'm really looking forward to coming out."
Sitting at the bottom of the WBBL ladder with the Renegades just above them, the Thunder are expecting an entertaining match to unfold in Canberra, with nothing to lose for either team.
"This season has been a bit of a disappointing, and we can't get to finals now," Litchfield said. "But we will take the positives, and try and build the squad for next year.
"We've always had a great relationship with country NSW and the ACT, so hopefully we get a good turnout."
WBBL
Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades at Manuka Oval, Tuesday 7.10pm
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