Phoebe Litchfield had started to look at potential flights back to Australia when Sunrisers Leeds slipped to their third defeat in four games, but her Hundred season has since taken off.
Litchfield moved up from No. 3 to open the batting against London Spirit and has put together a remarkable run of form since, hitting 183 runs off 87 balls in her last four innings. Since her promotion, Sunrisers have won four in a row to sneak through in third, and have arrived in London ahead of Friday's Eliminator against Southern Brave at The Oval full of confidence.
"Half my brain was like, 'Oh, I have to book a flight home kinda soon,' because knockout after knockout after knockout - it's tough," Litchfield tells Cricinfo, reflecting on the prospect of those four consecutive must-win games. "But then, once we started that first knockout game, I was like, 'No, we're actually a really good side here.'
"Immediately, that thought popped out of my head, and it's just been knockout cricket for four games in a row - well, now it's going to be five games in a row. It's the only way to play, honestly. It brings out the best in your side: everyone concentrates a bit more, and you see the results."
Openers Jess Jonassen and Bryony Smith had not reached 20 as a partnership in the first half of the group stage, leaving Litchfield to walk in under pressure at No. 3. "It was probably the phase of our batting that probably just didn't get off to the start that we wanted," Litchfield says. "So I put my hand up to head up the top and take the powerplay on, and it's worked out well."
She has scored at an extraordinary strike rate of 228.26 in the powerplay across her four innings at the top of the order, regularly charging bowlers, jumping outside leg stump, or playing her trademark scoops and reverse-hits. With only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle, teams have found it impossible to shut her down. "It's good fun," she says with a grin.
"We've hit our straps in the last couple of games… We haven't just been walking over the line: we've been winning games quite substantially." Litchfield has also now recovered from a bout of gastroenteritis that affected several of her team-mates, and left her feeling "pretty rough" in Tuesday's qualification decider against Manchester Super Giants.
She is one of four survivors - along with Kate Cross, Australia team-mate Annabel Sutherland, and young seamer Sophia Turner - from the team that won last year's title, albeit in Northern Superchargers purple rather than Sunrisers Leeds orange. They have replicated their success under a new head coach and a new captain, with Adi Birrell and Dani Gibson replacing Lisa Keightley and Hollie Armitage.
"He's possibly one of my favourite coaches I've worked with," Litchfield says of Birrell, the veteran South African, who is working in women's cricket for the first time. "He just reminds me of my dad, or my grandpa - like a hybrid… He's a breath of fresh air, for sure. His perspective on life and cricket is really refreshing for us girls.
"It's the first time he's worked with women, so it's been a challenge for him - there's been a few times I'm like, 'Oh dude, that is not the right thing to say!' - but he takes ownership for all his actions, and he knows a lot and he's so experienced… He's been wonderful, really fun."
Gibson, the highest-paid English player in the Hundred, is a novice as captain, as Litchfield was for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL not long ago: "We've been quite a laid-back group: not many meetings, very simple, and just playing to our strengths: have fun while doing it, and hopefully the results take care of themselves… She's taken it all on the chin, and done a really great job."
There are now Sunrisers sides in India, South Africa and England, but Litchfield is part of their first women's team, and enjoyed meeting Kaviya Maran, the franchise's CEO, in the first half of the season: "Kaviya's great, very passionate and very happy that we finally got a women's side. She's always had a soft spot for women's cricket, and is really excited to get in the game.
"We saw her in Leeds when we'd lost… She was like, 'Well, I'll be in London [for the knockout stages]...' and we were like, 'We'll be there,' saying it half-heartedly. But we're actually going to be here now… She sent a message to Adi the other night that she was very proud. It's cool to have that connection, and it is nice when the owner really cares, and you can tell that she does."
It has been two-and-a-half months since Litchfield last spent a night in her own bed back home in Sydney, but they have been memorable: she snuck in a European holiday before the Hundred after winning the T20 World Cup with Australia, and has the chance to add another winner's medal to her hand luggage if Sunrisers can extend their winning streak from four to six.
The prospect of a second Lord's final in six weeks, Litchfield says, "wasn't even in my sights" until a few days ago: "I think that'd be pretty darn cool - but [first], we've got a big job tomorrow."