The Cricketer runs the rule over the Northern Diamonds squads ahead of the 2022 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup campaigns
Captain: Hollie Armitage
Head coach: Danielle Hazell
Home grounds: Emerald Headingley, Emirates Riverside
Team background: Northern Diamonds represent Yorkshire, Durham and the North East, and the bulk of their squad have connections to the area, either representing Yorkshire or North East Warriors in county cricket or playing for Yorkshire Diamonds during the Kia Super League.
Netherlands international Sterre Kalis, who represents North East Warriors, is now a full-time professional at the club, while New Zealand international Leigh Kasperek has joined the club for 2022.
Yvonne Graves (Lightning), Abi Glen, Emma Marlow and Phoebe Turner (all academy) have also been added to the line-up, with Ami Campbell (Central Sparks), Phoebe Graham (Thunder) and Alex MacDonald among the departees.
What happened last season?
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. After reaching the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final in 2020, Northern Diamonds reached both finals last season but once again came away empty-handed.
In 50-over cricket, they finished second in the table, winning five of their seven matches, before eliminating Central Sparks to set up a final clash with Southern Vipers. Unfortunately, Vipers sealed a three-wicket win with two balls to spare.
In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Hollie Armitage's side finished top of Group B on net run rate, winning four matches and losing two, including a crushing eight-wicket victory over Thunder to seal their spot in the semi-final. They then shocked Southern Vipers to set up a final with South East Stars but lost by five wickets at the Ageas Bowl.
Sterre Kalis was Northern Diamonds' leading List A run-scorer, with 290, while Ami Campbell (223) and Bess Heath (212) were among the six other players to reach three figures. Heath replicated her 50-over form with 103 T20 runs while Hollie Armitage top-scored with 141 runs and Leah Dobson contributed 111.
With the ball, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Linsey Smith and Jenny Gunn took a combined 83 wickets and were economical to boot.
Sterre Kalis is a reliable pair of hands in the middle order [Steve Bardens/Getty Images]
Who are the England stars?
Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver and Lauren Winfield-Hill are Northern Diamonds' three centrally contracted players and any one of them is a game-changer.
Bowling allrounder Brunt is a veteran England international with over 300 wickets and nearly 1,800 runs in her 200-plus caps across all formats and three World Cups in her trophy cabinet. She's widely considered to be one of England's greatest fast bowlers and is well known for her aggression with bat and ball. In 2021, she made three List A appearances for Diamonds, taking nine wickets.
Sciver, a batting allrounder, and opener Winfield-Hill were also members of the 2017 World Cup winning side.
The former is an explosive top-order batter, capable of both hitting big and anchoring an innings, as she demonstrated at the 2022 World Cup as England's leading batter; an accurate medium pacer; and a dynamic fielder. She was restricted to just three appearances for Diamonds last season due to her England commitments.
Winfield-Hill, meanwhile, is also no slouch with the bat, notably scoring 110 runs (126 balls) against Central Sparks in last year's season opener at Headingley and boasting a strike rate of 119.19 during The Hundred. A wicketkeeper, she also provides competition for Bess Heath behind the stumps.
Who are the old heads?
Even without their England trio, Diamonds are spoiled for talent, with the likes of Kalis, Armitage, Levick, Langston, Smith and Gunn at their disposal.
Armitage and Kalis are the stars at the top of the order, both scoring big runs for their side in 2021 – Armitage finished the season with 338 runs across both formats while Kalis topped the charts in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with 290 runs at 41.42. And despite not firing in the T20s, having previously held the record for the highest score in a women's T20I (126 v Germany), the Dutch international is an asset to her side across the board.
Gunn, herself a three-time World Cup winner, made her Nottinghamshire debut in 2001 – the same year teammate Bess Heath was born. However, she rolled back the years in 2021, scoring 206 runs in the middle-order and flitting between anchor or finisher depending on the situation. She added 22 wickets across both formats.
Also in the bowling attack are spin duo Levick and former England international Smith, both of whom are proven wicket-takers and highly economical. Levick, in particular, impressed, taking 22 wickets in 2021 and finishing among her side’s top-three most economical bowlers in both formats. Langston, meanwhile, is Diamonds' most potent pace bowler and also a surprise package with the bat, scoring 141 runs, including two half-centuries, at a strike rate of 130.55 in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and 57 runs in two T20 matches.
And finally, there's new addition Leigh Kasperek, a veteran of over 80 international appearances for New Zealand and among the top-10 wicket-takers in women’s ODIs between the 2017 and 2022 World Cups. The reliable spinner, who is also economical, is no stranger to English conditions, taking 10 wickets at 23.90 for Yorkshire Diamonds in 2019.
All in all, an imposing bowling quintet and enviable batting depth.
Jenny Gunn has plenty of experience [Tony Marshall/Getty Images]
Who are the young players to watch?
Wicketkeeper Bess Heath was arguably Northern Diamonds' standout batter last season. Despite missing the first half of the season through injury, she returned to score 212 runs in five Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy appearances in the middle order and a further 103 runs in five Charlotte Edwards Cup outings, this time operating as an opening batter.
Both a big-hitter and a hard runner between the stumps, she scored a team-leading 16 fours in the latter competition and was instrumental in their run to the final, blasting 58 runs off just 40 balls in a must-win match against Thunder. Behind the stumps, she took five catches and completed three stumpings in 2021.
Keep an eye on Yvonne Graves. The middle-order batter and off-spin bowler moved to Northern Diamonds in search of regular game-time after being a bit-part player at Lightning and showed flashes of her potential last season, notably hitting a handy 28-ball 22 from No.9 against Southern Vipers and taking 3 for 43 against South East Stars.
And then there's Leah Dobson, who showed promise with 111 top-order runs in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, and Emma Marlow, who lifted Northern Diamonds’ academy coaches’ player of the year gong after scoring 130 runs and taking 11 wickets in 2021.
Squad: Hollie Armitage (c), Katherine Brunt, Abi Glen, Leah Dobson, Jenny Gunn, Bess Heath, Rachel Hopkins, Sterre Kalis, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Nat Sciver, Rachel Slater, Linsey Smith, Phoebe Turner, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Leigh Kasperek, Yvonne Graves
Fixtures
Charlotte Edwards Cup: May 14 – Lightning (A), May 18 – Thunder (A), May 21 – Southern Vipers (H), May 29 – Thunder (H), June 1 – Lightning (H), June 4 – Southern Vipers (A)
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy: July 3 – Thunder (A), July 9 – Sunrisers (H), July 16 – Central Sparks (A), July 23 – Lightning (H), September 9 – South East Stars (A), September 11 – Western Storm (A), September 17 – Southern Vipers (H)
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