Phoebe Litchfield has opened up about the "uncomfortable" conversations that helped the Australian women's cricket team become world champions again, revealing they had to first name their fear before overcoming it.
Australia won the T20 women's World Cup for a seventh time on Sunday (Monday EST) when they crushed England by seven wickets at Lord's.
The triumph helped ease the heartbreak of losing semi-finals at the 2025 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup.
Plenty of tough conversations have transpired since those two defeats, with the lessons learned playing a crucial role in helping Australia regain their T20 crown.
Coach Shelley Nitschke played a key role in creating a space where those discussions could be held.
"It's satisfying (to win), but I think those other two (losses) needed to happen. It shaped the way our team played yesterday," Litchfield said.
"Those meetings were uncomfortable, and credit to the girls who were there, especially ... the people who made those mistakes.
"It was a cool thing to be in, and just own it, and be honest and true.
"Being able to sit in a room and talk about how and why we missed those moments, and probably just identifying and naming that fear or that pressure, and being like, 'Yeah, it was there, and we felt it, and we weren't able to perform'."
Mission accomplished at the #T20WorldCup for Australia ✅ pic.twitter.com/WmQ5XIz1IH
— ICC (@ICC) July 6, 2026
Beth Mooney (64 off 49 balls) and Litchfield (48 off 35) combined for a 100-run stand as Australia chased down England's 4-150 with 17 balls to spare.
It represented Litchfield's first World Cup title and brought a sweet feeling for the 23-year-old after she played in the two World Cup semi-final exits.
"Personally, I feel like it's a real dream come true," Litchfield said.
"When you come to the side, you're like, 'Oh yeah, they win all the time'
"It's pretty cool to finally do it and play some really good cricket in the process."
With T20 cricket to be played at the 2028 LA Olympics, the Australian team already have one eye on snaring gold there.
But for now it's all about celebrations, and there are plenty of reasons for Australia to smile given the way they dismantled England on their own turf.
