Yorkshire Diamonds were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Leeds, Yorkshire. They were formed in 2016 to compete in the inaugural season of the Women's Cricket Super League. They played their home matches at grounds across Yorkshire, including Headingley Cricket Ground and Clifton Park, York, and were partnered with Yorkshire County Cricket Club. They were coached by Danielle Hazell and captained by Lauren Winfield. In 2020, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, some elements of the Yorkshire Diamonds were retained for a new team, the Northern Diamonds.
History 2016–2019: Women's Cricket Super League
Yorkshire Diamonds were formed in 2016 to compete in the new Women's Cricket Super League, partnering with Yorkshire CCC. In their inaugural season, they finished 5th out of 6 in the group stage, winning just one game, against Lancashire Thunder. They fared similarly in 2017, again finishing 5th, with two victories.
In 2018, an expansion in the format, to 10 games per team, saw no change to Yorkshire Diamonds' fortunes, again finishing 5th in the table, with three wins. In their final season, 2019, the Diamonds won five games to achieve their highest ever finish, in 4th, and were the only team to beat eventual winners Western Storm. Diamonds overseas player Jemimah Rodrigues was the second highest run-scorer in the tournament, with 401 runs, including 112* against Southern Vipers. This still meant they missed out on Finals Day, however, and the 2020 restructure of English domestic women's cricket meant that the Yorkshire Diamonds were disbanded, succeeded in spirit by the Northern Diamonds, who represent a larger area, but retain some of their players.
Home grounds VenueGames hosted by season16 17 18 19 TotalHeadingley Cricket Ground 2 1 2 2 7Clifton Park, York – 1 2 2 5North Marine Road Ground – – 1 1 2
Players Final squad, 2019 season. No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt. denotes players with international caps. No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes Batters5 Jemimah Rodrigues Right-handed Right-arm off break Overseas player6 Cordelia Griffith Right-handed Right-arm medium England Academy player57 Hollie Armitage Right-handed Right-arm leg break England Academy player All-rounders24 Leigh Kasperek Right-handed Right-arm off break Overseas player48 Alice Davidson-Richards Right-handed Right-arm medium England Performance squad Wicket-keepers25 Bess Heath Right-handed — 58 Lauren Winfield Right-handed — Club captain; England Performance squad77 Alyssa Healy Right-handed — Overseas player Bowlers10 Helen Fenby Right-handed Right-arm leg break England Academy player23 Katie Levick Right-handed Right-arm leg break England Academy player24 Katie George Right-handed Left-arm medium England Performance squad26 Katherine Brunt Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium England Performance squad42 Beth Langston Right-handed Right-arm medium England Performance squad 50 Linsey Smith Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox England Performance squad64 Georgia Davis Right-handed Right-arm off break
Overseas players Shabnim Ismail – South Africa (2016) Beth Mooney – Australia (2016, 2018) Alex Blackwell – Australia (2016) Chamari Atapattu – Sri Lanka (2017–2018) Sophie Devine – New Zealand (2017) Suné Luus – South Africa (2017) Delissa Kimmince – Australia (2018) Alyssa Healy – Australia (2019) Jemimah Rodrigues – India (2019) Leigh Kasperek – New Zealand (2019)
Seasons Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2016 5 1 4 0 0 1 3 −0.362 5th DNQ 2017 5 2 3 0 0 0 8 −0.318 5th DNQ 2018 10 3 6 0 1 1 15 −0.290 5th DNQ 2019 10 5 5 0 0 0 20 −0.456 4th DNQ
Statistics Overall Results + Women's Cricket Super League – summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2016 5 1 4 0 0 20.00 2017 5 2 3 0 0 40.00 2018 10 3 6 0 1 30.00 2019 10 5 5 0 0 50.00 Total30111801 36.66 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
Teamwise Result summary OppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Lancashire Thunder 6 4 2 0 0 66.66 Loughborough Lightning 6 2 4 0 0 33.33 Surrey Stars 6 2 3 0 1 33.33 Southern Vipers 6 2 4 0 0 33.33 Western Storm 6 1 5 0 0 16.66
Records Highest team total: 185/6, v Southern Vipers on 25 August 2019. Lowest team total: 64, v Southern Vipers on 30 July 2016. Highest individual score: 112*, Jemimah Rodrigues v Southern Vipers on 25 August 2019. Best individual bowling analysis: 5/26, Katherine Brunt v Southern Vipers on 2 August 2018. Most runs: 627 in 28 matches, Lauren Winfield. Most wickets: 29 wickets in 28 matches, Katie Levick.
References