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The Blaze and Australia all-rounder claims Blast MVP accolade.
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The Blaze and Australia all-rounder Charli Knott has won the Vitality Blast Women’s Player of the Year 2026 by finishing top of the MVP Rankings, powered by OFX.
After dominating the tournament and winning by 82.70 MVP points, Knott took home prize money worth £2,500 and a bespoke trophy.
The 23-year-old secured 310.36 MVP points in the competition, scoring 404 runs at an average of 40.40 and with an impressive strike-rate of 138.83. With the ball, Knott took 27 wickets at 12.18 a-piece, finishing as the leading wicket-taker in this year’s Vitality Blast.
The second Vitality Blast Finals Day at the Kia Oval began with The Blaze beating Surrey by six wickets, with Knott taking 4-15 and scoring 21 off 18 balls in a match-winning showing. Durham beat Hampshire Hawks in the second semi-final by four wickets, setting up a final against the 2024 Charlotte Edwards Cup champions.
The Blaze stormed to victory in the final beating Durham by 10 wickets, thanks to an unbeaten 118-run partnership from Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Bryce who both scored half centuries. Knott added two wickets to her total in the final with figures of 2-25.
Knott won an incredible five Match MVP awards throughout the tournament including that semi-final performance which earnt her 24.00 MVP points.
The highest Match MVP score of the competition belonged to Knott, earning a phenomenal 58.87 points against Yorkshire at Headingly for figures of 1-19 and an unbeaten innings of 84 off 57 balls with 11 fours and a six in a three-wicket win for The Blaze.
Earlier on in the tournament, Knott secured 35.60 MVP points against the same opponents after scoring 57 off 29 balls, including nine fours and bowling four economical overs for just 19 runs.
Against Essex, Knott helped her side to a nine-wicket victory with figures of 2-24 and an unbeaten innings off 54 off 35 balls with seven fours and a six, adding a further 28.93 points to her tally.
Astonishing career-best figures came for the Australian against Surrey, taking 6-25 alongside scoring 28 from 23 balls in a 34-run win, increasing her total by 34.73.
On winning the award Knott said: “I’m very pleased to be able to lift this trophy alongside the girls. Thankfully I managed to pull together and finish the tournament well despite a scratchy start.
“It’s been a blast playing with The Blaze and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be part of.
“It’s a great experience for myself, my third year playing over here, the wickets keep getting better and better so they’re not too dissimilar from back home.”
Finishing second on the MVP Rankings was another off-spinning all-rounder in Georgia Adams with 224.66 MVP points, thanks to scoring 358 runs at an average of 29.83 and taking 23 wickets at 13.43 a-piece.
The Hampshire skipper won three Match MVPs during the Blast, the first of which came against Yorkshire claiming 23.20 points for 30 off 20 balls and 2-20 in a 42-run win.
The 2022 and 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year picked up a Match MVP and 47.91 points against The Blaze for an innings of 49 off 30 balls with seven fours and two sixes, alongside brilliant figures of 4-16 to help Hampshire to a 23-run victory.
A third Blast Match MVP came against Warwickshire, the 32-year-old earning 36.02 points for figures of 2-21 and a 29-ball 53 in a four-wicket win.
Somerset’s Sophie Luff finished in third place on 169.25 MVP points thanks to scoring 397 runs at an average of 36.09 and a strike-rate of 139.29.
The Vitality Blast Women’s Player of the Year was selected by the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings, powered by OFX, the PCA’s Official FX Partner. The formula takes into account expected performance on every ball according to CricViz’s extensive database. The algorithm also considers the historic performances of the venue each fixture is being played at, therefore giving a more accurate reflection of the top performers in the game than traditional batting and bowling averages do.
Knott’s incredible tournament means she currently leads the way in the Overall Women’s MVP standings on 337.92 MVP points. Yorkshire’s Jess Jonassen is in second place, close behind Knott on 332.48 points with Adams in third.
The Hundred begins on Tuesday 21 July with the women’s Metro Bank One Day Cup returning on Wednesday 19 August as the race for the Overall MVP and the £7,500 prize continues.
View the Women’s Domestic MVP Rankings here.
