Phoebe Litchfield's 25-Ball Fifty Lights Up Headingley in The Hundred
Phoebe Litchfield cracked 55 off 25 balls for Sunrisers Leeds against Welsh Fire at Headingley, an innings the BBC described as "outstanding" (BBC Sport).
The Hundred — cricket's 100-ball-per-side competition — gives batters barely 65 legal deliveries to make their mark on each innings. Litchfield needed fewer than half of those to reach a half-century. That is a strike rate above 200, meaning she scored more than two runs for every ball she faced.
For context, a conventional one-day international gives a batter 300 balls across an innings. The Hundred compresses everything, rewarding aggression and clean timing. Litchfield's innings fit the format perfectly: quick feet, fast hands, and a willingness to hit through the line.
The fixture, listed officially as SunRisers Leeds Women v Welsh Fire Women, took place at Headingley on 7 August 2025 (The Hundred). Litchfield was named in the SunRisers Leeds Women squad for the match.
BBC video coverage of the innings is available to UK users only (BBC Sport), which means fans outside the UK will need to check their local broadcasters for highlights.
What makes Litchfield's knock stand out is its sheer tempo. Twenty-five balls is roughly the time it takes to settle in, read the bowler, and find your range in most formats. Litchfield skipped the settling phase entirely and went straight to the boundary-hitting phase. For anyone new to the women's game, it is also a reminder of the depth of talent on display in The Hundred, where international stars and domestic players share the same stage.
For Leeds fans, the innings underlined Litchfield's value at the top of the order. For neutral watchers, it was the kind of power-hitting display that makes the shortest format so watchable — the ball racing to the rope before the field has time to react.
The wider tournament picture will depend on how Sunrisers Leeds and Welsh Fire fare across their remaining fixtures, but individual brilliance like this is exactly the sort of moment The Hundred was built to showcase.
