Katie Ann Levick (born 17 July 1991) is an English cricketer who has played for Yorkshire, Yorkshire Diamonds, Northern Diamonds and Birmingham Phoenix. She is a leg spin bowler, and is the leading wicket taker in Women's County Championship cricket.

Katie Levick
Personal information
Full name
Katie Ann Levick
Born (1991-07-17) 17 July 1991 (age 32)
Sheffield, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg break
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2008–presentYorkshire
2016–2019Yorkshire Diamonds
2020–presentNorthern Diamonds
2021–2022Northern Superchargers
2023–presentBirmingham Phoenix
Career statistics
Competition WLA WT20
Matches 118 130
Runs scored 237 122
Batting average 7.18 4.35
100s/50s 0/0 0/0
Top score 30* 13
Balls bowled 5,580 2,607
Wickets 183 161
Bowling average 17.40 15.69
5 wickets in innings 3 3
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 6/25 5/15
Catches/stumpings 19/– 10/–
Source: CricketArchive, 5 October 2023

Personal life edit

Levick is from Sheffield.[1][2] Levick studied at Sheffield Hallam University, graduating in 2012.[1] She later worked as a teacher,[1] and as of 2020, she was a marketing manager for Yorkshire CCC's coaching department.[3]

Career edit

Levick played club cricket for Upper Haugh Cricket Club in Rotherham, alongside her brother.[1][2] The club had no girls team, so she played on the boys team.[2] At the age of 16, Levick debuted for Yorkshire Women.[1] She has taken 190 wickets in the Women's County Championship, more than any other player.[1][4] Levick took 20 wickets in the 2015 season at an average of 9 runs per wicket. She was the second highest wicket taker in the competition, behind Sarah Clarke.[5] In 2018, Levick took 20 wickets for Yorkshire Women in the County Championship and Twenty20 tournaments.[6]

From 2011 to 2012, Levick was a member of the England Academy squad, but after graduating from university, she left the academy to find paid work.[1] Levick played in the Women's Cricket Super League between 2016 and 2019, representing the Yorkshire Diamonds.[2] She took 29 wickets, more than any other non-international cricketer, at an economy rate of 6.60.[1][2] In 2019, Levick was named The Guardian's Women's Cricketer of the Year.[1][4]

In 2020, Levick played for the Northern Diamonds in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[4] She took eight wickets in the group stages of the tournament,[7] including taking 3/22 from 10 overs in the Diamonds' match against North West Thunder.[8] In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final against Southern Vipers, Levick took 3/49 from 8 overs, including the wicket of Georgia Adams.[9] Levick signed for the Northern Superchargers for The Hundred.[2] The 2020 season of The Hundred was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[3] but Levick was retained by the Superchargers for the 2021 season.[10] In October 2020, Levick tested positive for COVID-19, and later suffered the effects of long COVID. At one point, she was unsure if she would be able to play cricket again, though she later returned to action in the 2021 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[11] At the end of the 2021 season, it was announced that Levick had signed a professional contract with Northern Diamonds.[12]

In April 2022, she was signed by the Northern Superchargers for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[13] She was the leading wicket-taker in the 2022 Charlotte Edwards Cup, with 15 wickets at an average of 9.06.[14] In 2023, she was Northern Diamonds' leading wicket-taker in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with 24 and 12 wickets respectively, as well as being Birmingham Phoenix's leading wicket-taker in The Hundred, taking 11 wickets.[15][16][17]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Guardian women's cricketer of the year 2019: Katie Levick". The Guardian. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Meet Katie Levick, Yorkshire cricket and Northern Superchargers' unsung heroine". The Yorkshire Post. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Hundred delay a knock for women's game - Katie Levick". ESPNcricinfo. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "With Jenny Gunn in the ranks and a raft of young talent, Northern Diamonds are set up to go far". The Cricketer. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ^ Booth, Lawrence (April 2016). The Shorter Wisden 2016: The Best Writing from Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2016. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472935229.
  6. ^ "Levick wants Vikings' overseas stars to learn to hate the Thunder". The Cricketer. 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Northern Diamonds proud of 2020 efforts ahead of final". Telegraph & Argus. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Alex MacDonald's 92 sets up Northern Diamonds victory over North West Thunder". ESPNcricinfo. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy: Southern Vipers beat Northern Diamonds to win title". BBC Sport. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  10. ^ "The Hundred: Northern Superchargers sign Hollie Armitage; retain Katie Levick, Adil Rashid, David Willey". ESPNcricinfo. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Katie Levick: Yorkshire spinner says father feared for her cricketing return after battling long Covid". Sky Sports. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  12. ^ "ECB fund sixth professional contract at each women's regional team". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  13. ^ "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Records/Charlotte Edwards Cup, 2022/Most Wickets". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Records/Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 2023 - Northern Diamonds/Batting and Bowling Averages". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Records/Charlotte Edwards Cup, 2023 - Northern Diamonds/Batting and Bowling Averages". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Records/The Hundred Women's Competition, 2023 - Birmingham Phoenix (Women)/Batting and Bowling Averages". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2023.

External links edit