"Needed to happen": The motivation behind Australia's T20 triumph

With Australia's women's side reclaiming their title as T20 World Champions, Phoebe Litchfield has reflected on what it means for the squad.

Overnight, Australia claimed their seventh title in the tournament's history following a seven-wicket victory over England at Lord's, with Litchfield making 48 runs off 35 balls as they chased England’s target of 151 with 17 deliveries to spare.

Having come in at the end of the second over, the NSW representative alongside Beth Mooney put on a partnership of 100 runs which went a long way to securing their victory.

Speaking afterwards, the batter was immensely proud of the side’s ability to live up to their World No.1 ranking having not lost a game throughout the tournament.

“Stuff of dreams, right?” Litchfield told SEN’s Tom Morris.

“I think our team is the best in the world and I think we just probably haven't performed the way we want to.

“We committed to a style of play and the power in our top order coupled with a set of beautiful bowlers.

“You've got to be a pretty good side to beat us, and we showed that today, which is really pleasing.

“I think one thing that our group is really proud of because as much as you can speak about it's another thing to go out there and do it.”

After making her international debut in 2022, this marks 23-year-old Litchfield’s first World Cup win with her country after semi-final exits in the last ODI and T20 World Cup.

This, in Litchfield’s opinion, helped motivate the squad to the ultimate success, making this win that extra bit special.

“When I got into the squad, it's like, ‘Oh, these girls win it all the time, right?’,” she added.

“So, when we got knocked out in the semi-final, both the 50-over and the T20 World Cup (in 2025 and 2024), it was disappointing.

“But I think it also needed to happen and I guess reignite the passion for the side and to get the feeling that these tournaments aren't easy to win.

“It's a really cool feeling and something that I've dreamed of for ages. So, it's pretty cool to do it here, especially at Lord's.”

Australia will next feature in October when they host Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series.