Northern Diamonds "ready to hit the ground running" in T20s, says Hollie Armitage

Ahead of Diamonds’ clash with Thunder, the skipper discusses her side’s chances and players to watch in the Charlotte Edwards Trophy

Northern Diamonds captain Hollie Armitage is feeling confident ahead of the first round of Charlotte Edwards Cup fixtures, believing the T20 format suits her group of players.

Diamonds, who are in the Group B with Thunder, Sunrisers, and Western Storm, are no slouches in the 50-over format, reaching the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020 and sitting second in this season's standings with three consecutive wins under their belt.

But batting-allrounder Armitage, speaking at an event with Yorkshire County Cricket Club partner, Vertu Motors, thinks the shorter format is a natural fit for Diamonds.

"We're prepared to be playing T20 cricket now and the format suits us well," she said. "I don't think we've really had to change much in regard to how we play our cricket, it's just a different challenge and we're ready to hit the ground running. It's a brand of cricket we like to play, especially with our explosive batters in the middle-order."

Diamonds will be without three key players – Katherine Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill, and Nat Sciver – for at least the first three rounds of the Charlotte Edwards Cup. The trio are currently residing in England's bio-secure bubble ahead of the national side's white-ball series against India. However, rather than hindering her side’s chances, Armitage believes it presents a welcome opportunity for her young players to step up.

"It exposes new positions in our team and opportunities for younger players to step in and fill big shoes, so it’s an exciting time for those players," she said. "I think Leah Dobson might hopefully make her debut for Diamonds this season. She's a really exciting prospect in the squad – lots of runs at age-group cricket – so hopefully, she'll be a player to watch out for in the next few years."

From the rest of her squad, Ami Campbell and Sterre Kalis, who once held the world record for the highest score in a women's T20I (126 v Germany), are two of the explosive batters Armitage expects to shine for Diamonds, while the skipper is also relishing the change in format for her own game following a run of disappointing individual 50-over performances. The 28-year-old scored 60 runs in four appearances in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, but scored 184 runs, including two half-centuries, for Yorkshire in the Women's T20 County Championship earlier in the year.

"Ami Campbell is someone to watch out for with the bat," she said. "She hits a very long ball and is someone who you probably don’t want to bowl at in the nets. She’s an exciting prospect for us.

"And Sterre, she seems to score the bulk of her runs at Headingley and she's been in some form with her 70-odd against [South East Stars] which got us into a winning position. But there's lots of players in our squad who are exciting T20 players so we're looking forward to it."

Commenting on her own game, she continued: "I've probably not had the greatest Rachael Heyhoe Flint that I wanted, but I've just got to back the things I've done all winter, all the time I've been playing, and go out there and enjoy my cricket."

Looking ahead to their Charlotte Edwards Cup opener, Diamonds face Thunder, a side who have so far struggled for consistency in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy but could be the outside bet to take the T20 title. Thunder draw the bulk of their players from Lancashire, who were unbeaten in four County Championship matches in spring, while opener Emma Lamb is in scintillating form in all formats, most recently scoring 134 not out (71 balls) against Lightning in a T20 friendly.

^{Ami Campbell and Sterre Kalis}

Armitage, however, is unphased by the potential threat posed by Thunder, backing her bowlers to restrict Lamb and co on Saturday: "All of the teams are going to be really competitive. We've done bits and pieces of stats on players but for us it's just about doing the things we do well: hitting the pitch hard and the bowlers steaming in. We've got two of the quickest fast bowlers bowling for us.

"We just need to do the basics well, pick up a few key wickets in the powerplay and go from there. [Emma Lamb] is a very good player and she's someone we want to get out in the first couple of overs."

And as for her side's match preceding Yorkshire Vikings versus Northants Steelbacks in a rare double-header at Headingley? "It's a big opportunity in regard to women's cricket because hopefully we will get bigger exposure to different people if they come to our game before the men's," she said. "It’s really great that we can play at Headingley, our home ground, and hopefully start the T20 competition off with a win."

This article was written in association with Vertu Motors, a sponsor of Yorkshire Cricket Club. For more information, visit www.vertumotors.com