With Jenny Gunn in the ranks and a raft of young talent, Northern Diamonds are set up to go far

RACHAEL HEYHOE FLINT TROPHY PREVIEW, by RICHARD CLARK: The most eye-catching name on the roster is undoubtedly multiple World Cup-winning allrounder Jenny Gunn, now retired from international cricket

Head coach: Danielle Hazell

Squad: Hollie Armitage, Ami Campbell, Leah Dobson, Helen Fenby, Phoebe Graham, Jenny Gunn, Bess Heath, Rachel Hopkins, Sterre Kalis, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Alex MacDonald, Rachel Slater, Linsey Smith, Ella Telford, Layla Tipton

Allocated England players: Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver, Lauren Winfield

Fixtures: August 29 - Central Sparks (a, 10.30am); August 31 - Lightning (h, 10.30am); September 5 - Lightning (a, 10.30am); September 10 - Thunder (a, 10.30am); September 13 - Central Sparks (h, 10.30am); September 19 - Thunder (h, 10.30am)

Squad Background

Northern Diamonds are the Yorkshire and Durham/North East hub, and their squad is unsurprisingly built around players from – or with connections to – those counties.

Yorkshire players make up the bulk of the fifteen, with eight from the White Rose county, and there are a further four from Durham, whilst Nottinghamshire’s Jenny Gunn and Bess Heath of Derbyshire have both played for Yorkshire Diamonds in the Kia Super League, and Phoebe Graham was a Yorkshire product before switching to Berkshire more recently.

The final piece of the jigsaw sees the intriguing presence of Netherlands international batsman Sterre Kalis.

What do I need to know?

As well as the fifteen named, Diamonds will have the services of England trio Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver and Lauren Winfield for the opening two games, plus ‘Rookie’ contracted Linsey Smith.

Diamonds will split their three home fixtures between Headingley (two matches) and the Riverside Stadium (one match).

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Who are the star names?

The most eye-catching name on the roster is undoubtedly multiple World Cup-winning allrounder Jenny Gunn, now retired from international cricket, but Diamonds also include another member of Mark Robinson’s 2017 squad in 27-year old Yorkshire seamer Beth Langston.

Kalis, with 17 T20 caps to her name, is the only other player with senior international experience. She averages just under 40 for her country and has played several seasons in Australian domestic cricket.

While perhaps not a name that will ring many bells outside the women’s game, Katie Levick’s record domestically speaks for itself. The leg-spinner has taken more wickets (190) than any other player in Women’s County Championship history and was named as the Guardian Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2019.

Youngsters to look out for

Former England Academy batsman Hollie Armitage will be one aiming to put down a marker for future England selection. Well-established at KSL level, Sydney Sixers picked the 23-year old up as an injury replacement for Ellyse Perry, no less, in last winter’s WBBL.

Eighteen-year old Leah Dobson and 19-year old Heath are two top-order batsmen with strong age-group records. Dobson has a T20 top score of 161* for Yorkshire Under-17s last summer, as well as featuring for the county’s senior team, while Heath hits the ball hard and is a useful keeper too.

Having spent the last two summers as part of Yorkshire Diamonds’ KSL squad, she endured a difficult spell in 2019, so will be looking to put that right in the coming weeks.

On the bowling front, Durham skipper and member of the England Academy ‘Spin Group’, Helen Fenby is another leggie who, despite being only 21, has plenty of KSL experience under her belt, whilst left-arm seamer Rachel Slater is tipped as another young gun to keep an eye on, having had a year’s experience in the Yorkshire senior squad.

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