Katie Levick said reaching the milestone of 300 career wickets at her home ground of Headingley was a “dream outcome” after she took 4-36 against Western Storm.
The 31-year-old from Sheffield made her first appearance for Yorkshire women as a teenager before becoming the leading wicket-taker in County Championship cricket.
Now a key player for Northern Diamonds, Levick’s latest haul came in the resounding opening day victory over Western Storm as Diamonds look to retain the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy they won in 2022.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” said Levick. “I knew I was in range of 300 wickets so I wanted to chip away at it as much as I could but to get it in the first game is a nice moment and to do it at Headingley is the dream outcome.
“It’s all a bit surreal to be honest. In the end I was disappointed not to get five which is weird when you’ve broken a milestone. It was a lovely day out in the field – I felt in really good rhythm which is what you want early on in the season and I was disappointed I could only bowl eight overs.”
Levick also scored an unbeaten six batting at number 10 and she is determined to move up the order and offer something else apart from her leg spin.
“I’ve spent most of the winter working on my batting,” she said.
“Being professional has changed my game entirely. I don’t have to worry about having another job and instead have the time to focus on things like batting and fielding and adding another string to my bow. It gives you that luxury and it really shows on the pitch when you’re putting on a performance like today.”
Levick added how impressed she was with Diamonds’ new signing, Chloe Tryon, who scored 63 runs off just 36 balls.
“What a player,” she said. “Everything she took part in today was amazing and you could just tell she had that international class straight away.
“I’ve never seen someone hit the ball that hard and we have Bess Heath who hits it pretty hard. She took part in everything today and that’s just what you want from an overseas player. She’s off to a flyer.”
