Award Winners Crowned

Rising allrounder Charli Knott claimed her inaugural win in the Jodie Purves Trophy for performances across the season with the Queensland Fire and WBBL Brisbane Heat.

BBL|13 championship winner Xavier Bartlett’s effort in finishing as the competition’s leading wicket-taker was further highlighted with his inaugural win as the BBL Heat MVP to cap off a memorable campaign.

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Breaking the trend, New Zealand star Amelia Kerr was awarded the WBBL Heat MVP award for the second season in a row, producing key innings across the competition including top scoring in two Finals matches.

Knott, 21, took out the premier women’s cricket award that was launched last year to recognise the contribution of former Queensland and Australian captain Jodie Purves.

Knott flourished in the Weber Women’s Big Bash League and Women’s National Cricket League, taking her to the fringes of national selection.

Playing predominantly as a middle to lower order finisher for the Heat, she scored 220 runs at a strike rate of 147.65, while taking 10 wickets, often bowling with the new ball. 

She was named as the WBBL Young Gun award – for players aged 21 or under during the tournament – by the National Selection Panel. 

In the WNCL, her stand-out innings came in the Final, hitting 11 fours in a career-best one-day knock of 73 from 61 balls as the Fire made 248. 

She was also named captain of the CA Gold team that played a three-day match at the end of the summer.

Other awards presented on the night included the Pike-Maher Medal to Fire and Heat batter Mikayla Hinkley for her strong commitment to advancing the growth and impact of Indigenous cricket.

Hinkley, a proud First Nations woman, featured in the development of Queensland Cricket’s inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan launched last year and the on-going education and promotion process around the Brisbane Heat’s Indigenous playing strip worn in the WBBL and BBL that she helped to design.

She again was a passionate advocate for the Heat club’s First Nations story-telling contained on the playing shirts, taking part in jersey presentations to the WBBL squad this season which incorporated members of the Queensland Women’s Indigenous team.

Hinkley, who toured with the Australian Indigenous team last year to Vanuatu where she filled a mentoring role within the squad, spent valuable time with young female Indigenous players across the season to help them successfully navigate a pathway in their chosen sport.

The Pike-Maher Medal is named in honour of former Queensland and Australian players Kirsten Pike and Jimmy Maher and presented to a Queensland male or female player who has played a major role in creating a positive difference in their communities through charitable and community contributions.