# 2020 Northern Diamonds season

The 2020 season was Northern Diamonds' first season, in which they competed in the 50 over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket in England. The side topped the North Group of the competition, winning 5 of their 6 games, progressing to the final. However, they lost to Southern Vipers in the final by 38 runs.
After the ending of the Women's Cricket Super League in 2019, the ECB announced the beginning of a new "women's elite domestic structure". Eight teams were included in this new structure, with Northern Diamonds being one of the new teams, replacing Yorkshire Diamonds and representing the North East and Yorkshire. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, only the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was able to take place. Northern Diamonds were captained by Hollie Armitage and coached by Danielle Hazell. They played two home matches at Headingley Cricket Ground and one at the Riverside Ground.

## Squad

Northern Diamonds named their squad on 19 August 2020. Age given is at the start of Northern Diamonds's first match of the season (29 August 2020).
| Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters ||||||
| Ami Campbell | England | (1991-06-06)6 June 1991 (aged 29) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Leah Dobson | England | (2001-10-06)6 October 2001 (aged 18) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Rachel Hopkins | England | (1992-07-19)19 July 1992 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Sterre Kalis | Netherlands | (1999-08-30)30 August 1999 (aged 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Lauren Winfield-Hill | England | (1990-08-16)16 August 1990 (aged 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| All-rounders ||||||
| Hollie Armitage | England | (1997-06-14)14 June 1997 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Captain |
| Katherine Brunt | England | (1985-07-02)2 July 1985 (aged 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | |
| Jenny Gunn | England | (1986-05-09)9 May 1986 (aged 34) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Alex MacDonald | England | (1991-10-03)3 October 1991 (aged 28) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Nat Sciver | England | (1992-08-20)20 August 1992 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Layla Tipton | England | (2002-03-19)19 March 2002 (aged 18) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers ||||||
| Bess Heath | England | (2001-08-20)20 August 2001 (aged 19) | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers ||||||
| Helen Fenby | England | (1998-11-23)23 November 1998 (aged 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Phoebe Graham | England | (1991-10-23)23 October 1991 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Beth Langston | England | (1992-09-06)6 September 1992 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Katie Levick | England | (1991-07-17) 17 July 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Rachel Slater | England | (2001-11-20)20 November 2001 (aged 18) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Linsey Smith | England | (1995-03-10)10 March 1995 (aged 25) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Ella Telford | England | (1999-04-05)5 April 1999 (aged 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |

## Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
### North Group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Northern Diamonds | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 1.000 |
| 2 | Central Sparks | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | −0.285 |
| 3 | North West Thunder | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | −0.515 |
| 4 | Lightning | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.113 |

### Fixtures
#### Group stage

* 29 August 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| Central Sparks 144 (38.1 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 145/1 (24.1 overs) |
| Gwenan Davies 33 (44) Katherine Brunt 5/20 (9 overs) | | Lauren Winfield-Hill 72 (71) Clare Boycott 1/5 (1 over) |
* Northern Diamonds won by 9 wickets Edgbaston, Birmingham Umpires: Jasmine Naeem and Sue Redfern
* Central Sparks won the toss and elected to bat.
* Points: Northern Diamonds 5, Central Sparks 0
* 31 August 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| Northern Diamonds 226/9 (50 overs) | v | Lightning 217/7 (50 overs) |
| Nat Sciver 104 (116) Kathryn Bryce 5/29 (10 overs) | | Kathryn Bryce 71* (81) Nat Sciver 2/30 (10 overs) |
* Northern Diamonds won by 9 runs Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street Umpires: Neil Pratt and Lina Nenova
* Northern Diamonds won the toss and elected to bat.
* Points: Northern Diamonds 4, Lightning 0
* 5 September 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| Lightning 226 (49.1 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 229/8 (48.5 overs) |
| Sarah Bryce 51 (69) Alex MacDonald 2/31 (10 overs) | | Jenny Gunn 50* (72) Lucy Higham 3/38 (10 overs) |
* Northern Diamonds won by 2 wickets Grace Road, Leicester Umpires: Joanne Ibbotson and Sue Redfern
* Northern Diamonds won the toss and elected to field.
* Points: Northern Diamonds 4, Lightning 0
* 10 September 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| Northern Diamonds 248/8 (50 overs) | v | North West Thunder 175/8 (50 overs) |
| Alex MacDonald 92 (110) Laura Jackson 2/23 (9 overs) | | Alice Dyson 25* (51) Katie Levick 3/22 (10 overs) |
* Northern Diamonds won by 73 runs Aigburth Cricket Ground, Liverpool Umpires: Jasmine Naeem and Steve O'Shaughnessy
* North West Thunder won the toss and elected to field.
* Points: Northern Diamonds 5, North West Thunder 0
* 13 September 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| Northern Diamonds 217 (50 overs) | v | Central Sparks 218/4 (46.4 overs) |
| Sterre Kalis 87 (115) Elizabeth Russell 4/28 (9 overs) | | Evelyn Jones 77 (114) Beth Langston 2/27 (8 overs) |
* Central Sparks won by 6 wickets Headingley, Leeds Umpires: Lina Nenova and Peter Hartley
* Northern Diamonds won the toss and elected to bat.
* Points: Central Sparks 4, Northern Diamonds 0
* 19 September 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| North West Thunder 143 (42.5 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 144/4 (29.4 overs) |
| Natalie Brown 32 (41) Beth Langston 3/18 (8.5 overs) | | Sterre Kalis 55* (67) Hannah Jones 1/28 (8 overs) |
* Northern Diamonds won by 6 wickets Headingley, Leeds Umpires: Joanne Ibbotson and Ian Ramage
* North West Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.
* Points: Northern Diamonds 5, North West Thunder 0

#### Final

* 27 September 2020 10:30 BST Scorecard
| Southern Vipers 231 (49.5 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 193 (42.2 overs) |
| Georgia Adams 80 (102) Katie Levick 3/49 (8 overs) | | Sterre Kalis 55 (75) Charlotte Taylor 6/34 (10 overs) |
* Southern Vipers won by 38 runs Edgbaston, Birmingham Umpires: Neil Pratt and Rob White Player of the match: Charlotte Taylor (Southern Vipers)
* Northern Diamonds won the toss and elected to field.

## Statistics
### Batting

| Player | Matches | Innings | NO | Runs | HS | Average | Strike rate | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Hollie Armitage | 7 | 7 | 1 | 176 | 54* | 29.33 | 62.19 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 2 |
| Katherine Brunt | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5.00 | 55.55 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ami Campbell | 5 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 43 | 14.00 | 86.41 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Helen Fenby | 2 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 17.00 | 89.47 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Phoebe Graham | 5 | 4 | 2 | 60 | 29* | 30.00 | 89.55 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Jenny Gunn | 7 | 6 | 2 | 149 | 50* | 37.25 | 59.83 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Bess Heath | 7 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 23 | 7.40 | 63.79 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Rachel Hopkins | 4 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 35 | 13.50 | 35.76 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Sterre Kalis | 7 | 6 | 1 | 197 | 87 | 39.40 | 74.62 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0 |
| Beth Langston | 7 | 5 | 1 | 93 | 37 | 23.23 | 78.81 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Katie Levick | 7 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 8* | – | 66.66 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Alex MacDonald | 7 | 6 | 0 | 122 | 92 | 20.33 | 68.53 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| Nat Sciver | 2 | 2 | 1 | 108 | 104 | 108.00 | 92.30 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Linsey Smith | 4 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 23 | 15.00 | 93.75 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Layla Tipton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14.00 | 66.66 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lauren Winfield-Hill | 3 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 72 | 31.00 | 91.17 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| Source: ESPN Cricinfo ||||||||||||

### Bowling

| Player | Matches | Innings | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | BBI | Average | Economy | Strike rate |
| Hollie Armitage | 7 | 5 | 28.2 | 1 | 122 | 6 | 2/16 | 20.33 | 4.30 | 28.3 |
| Katherine Brunt | 2 | 2 | 18.0 | 2 | 53 | 6 | 5/20 | 8.83 | 2.94 | 18.0 |
| Helen Fenby | 2 | 2 | 11.0 | 0 | 68 | 0 | – | – | 6.18 | – |
| Phoebe Graham | 5 | 5 | 37.4 | 1 | 146 | 2 | 2/29 | 73.00 | 3.87 | 113.0 |
| Jenny Gunn | 7 | 7 | 45.5 | 3 | 187 | 8 | 2/18 | 23.37 | 4.08 | 34.3 |
| Beth Langston | 7 | 7 | 56.1 | 5 | 233 | 12 | 3/18 | 19.41 | 4.14 | 28.0 |
| Katie Levick | 7 | 7 | 60.0 | 5 | 244 | 11 | 3/22 | 22.18 | 4.06 | 32.7 |
| Alex MacDonald | 7 | 3 | 22.4 | 0 | 81 | 4 | 2/31 | 20.25 | 3.57 | 34.0 |
| Nat Sciver | 2 | 2 | 15.0 | 1 | 46 | 2 | 2/30 | 23.00 | 3.06 | 45.0 |
| Linsey Smith | 4 | 4 | 30.0 | 3 | 102 | 4 | 2/36 | 25.50 | 3.40 | 45.0 |
| Layla Tipton | 1 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | – | – | 6.00 | – |
| Source: ESPN Cricinfo |||||||||||

### Fielding

| Player | Matches | Innings | Catches |
| Hollie Armitage | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| Katherine Brunt | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Ami Campbell | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Helen Fenby | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Phoebe Graham | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Jenny Gunn | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Rachel Hopkins | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Sterre Kalis | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Beth Langston | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Katie Levick | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Alex MacDonald | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| Nat Sciver | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Linsey Smith | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Layla Tipton | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Lauren Winfield-Hill | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Source: ESPN Cricinfo ||||

### Wicket-keeping

| Player | Matches | Innings | Catches | Stumpings |
| Bess Heath | 7 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Source: ESPN Cricinfo |||||