Katie Levick has revealed how her recent spell playing with the Northern Diamonds has put the spark back into her cricket.
The Yorkshire leg-spinner, 29, admitted that the early summer lockdown had her contemplating her future in the game in which she has excelled at domestic level for more than a decade.
But, after playing an integral part in the Diamonds run to the final of the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy from late August to late September, she is now looking forward to a few more successful years.
Sheffield-born Levick has just been retained by the Northern Superchargers for next summer’s inaugural Hundred campaign.
She had been signed up to start this year before the competition was cancelled due to Coronavirus, but she has taken up the option to go again in 2021.
It could be in that competition that she passes the 250-wicket mark in her domestic career – she currently sits on 226 (186 for Yorkshire women, 29 for Yorkshire Diamonds and 11 for Northern Diamonds).
“I put out a tweet earlier this year where I said, ‘I’m getting to the stage where I’m thinking my career is winding down’,” she explained.
“People within, or who follow, the men’s game keep saying they think I’m still young, but it’s different as an amateur.
“Getting close to 30 and you don’t necessarily want to keep giving up your spare time for not much reward.
“Then, through lockdown, I was thinking, ‘Am I really missing cricket that much?’
“But the Diamonds gave me that love for the game again.
“Being around that team and environment, with the players and staff we had, it has really given me the taste to have a few more years out of this.”
