Champions of the 2023 English Women’s Domestic season, Southern Vipers, who registered a double, winning both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (50-over) and Charlotte Edwards Cup (20-over), have further bolstered their squad ahead of the 2024 season, eyeing title defenses.
The Southern Vipers have announced the signing of promising 21-year-old Australian all-rounder, Charli Knott, who is set to be available for the first leg of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (RHFT) (10) games and the entirety of Charlotte Edwards Cup (CEC).
On her signing, Charli said, “I cannot wait to be a part of the Vipers squad. Playing in the UK has been something I have been wanting to do for quite some time now so I am thrilled at the opportunity. It is always exciting getting to learn from new players and different environments. There is a lot of talent in the Vipers squad but I hope to be able to contribute to another successful year and go back to back.”
The batting all-rounder – who plays as a right-handed batter and right-arm off-spinner – made her professional debut in 2018, aged 15, for Queensland Fire in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), and months later, she had a successful Australia U19 campaign. In the same year, she signed her first contract with the Brisbane Heat in the 4th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), while still a student at Brisbane State High.
In 2022-23, Charli had a brief stint with the Wellington Blaze in the Twenty20 (T20) Super Smash in New Zealand. The following year, Charli was named to the Australia A squad for the England tour. During that tour, in 3 One-Day matches, she managed 59 runs and scalped 5 wickets, including a best of 3/28, maintaining an economy rate of 5.52. In 3 T20 games, she accumulated 40 runs.
Charli didn’t have a successful tour, yet staged a turnaround in the recently concluded WBBL edition, amassing 283 runs, striking at 146.63, and bagging 10 wickets, at an economy rate of 7.75, from 17 outings. In the 2023/24 WNCL season, from 11 One-Day outings, she added 255 runs to the tally and also took 12 wickets, including a best of 3/25.
Regional Director of Women’s Cricket, Adam Carty, on this signing, said, “In Charli Knott, we feel we’ve recruited a young player of massive potential who demonstrates all that we like in a cricketer. Having first seen her live in England, as part of the Australia A tour last summer, we’ve kept a close eye on her progress, and without doubt, following a superb WBBL for Brisbane Heat, we feel we have a player equipped to contribute commendably to both white ball competitive formats.”
The 2024 edition of the RHFT kicks off on the 20th of April, 2024, and the Vipers will take on South East Stars. They’ll take on The Blaze in the CEC curtain-raiser on the 18th of May, 2024.
(Quotes sourced from Southern Vipers Media Release)
