Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers’ Association
The Blaze all-rounder is Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year, taking home a trophy and £2,500 prize.
Kathryn Bryce has won the 2024 Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year, following a dominant campaign with the bat and ball which saw her be the standout performer as she lifted the 20-over competition for The Blaze.
Excelling in the group stages, Bryce went up a further gear on Finals Day, top scoring thanks to a crucial 44 in the semi-final victory over Central Sparks before 62 in the final to help guide her team to victory in Derby with a Match MVP performance.
The 50-cap Scotland international ended the competition as the leading run scorer with 478 which included a remarkable five half-centuries, two more than anybody else.
Bryce showed her pedigree throughout the competition, picking up three Match MVP awards in three important group stage victories in addition to her fourth in the final. Her standout performance came against fellow Finals Day outfit Central Sparks as she scored an impressive 57 off 47 balls after her side were stuttering at 16-2 in the fourth over. She backed that up with two wickets for 28 runs, including the vital wicket of the in-form Davina Perrin.
The 26-year-old also stood out with Match MVP awards against Thunder with 26.35 points thanks to 61 runs off 51 balls and a wicket. However, perhaps her most memorable match in the group came at Lord’s against the Sunrisers when batting with her sister Sarah, the Bryces led The Blaze to an eight-wicket victory. Kathryn, who scooped her third Match MVP award, finished unbeaten on 57 off 37 deliveries and Sarah 54 off 35 balls.
The Player of the Year is selected by the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings, with the Scotland international leading for the vast majority of the competition. The formula enables players to score or lose MVP points on every ball based on their expected performance for that ball in comparison to CricViz’s extensive historical database of 20-over fixtures, with the venue being played at also taken into account.
Bryce wins £2,500 and a trophy after finishing the competition as statistically the number one player, ending with 236.05 MVP points, a key part of The Blaze winning 11 out of the 12 games in the competition thanks to averaging 43.45 at a strike-rate of 120.10.
Speaking after receiving her Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year trophy, Bryce said:
“It’s been unbelievable, it’s great to be back with the team. It’s been an amazing few weeks, you have to take it in while you’re enjoying it as cricket is very up and down so you have to enjoy this moment.
“The team were absolutely unbelievable, our bowling side for the whole competition has been fantastic, everybody stood up at different times and at really key moments and that’s been a key part of us being successful.”
The team and individual accolades topped off an impressive week for Bryce, following the announcement of a new contract with The Blaze on Thursday, committing herself to the Trent Bridge based club for a further three years.
Chasing Bryce for the majority of the competition, a special mention must go to Hollie Armitage who led the Northern Diamonds with 151.74 points which included two Match MVP awards as she placed second in the run-scoring charts and ended second in the MVP.
for the majority of the competition, a special mention must go to Hollie Armitage who led the Northern Diamonds with 151.74 points which included two Match MVP awards as she placed second in the run-scoring charts and ended second in the MVP.
Regarding individual disciplines, Bryce was the top performing batter in the competition by a distance, ending on 193.25 batting MVP points, 77.59 ahead of Armitage. Linsey Smith was the best performing bowler with 77.85 bowling points for the Vipers, edging Gordon by 1.72 points while specialist wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby was the standout when it comes to fielding points, 5 points ahead of Sarah Bryce with 43 points for her work in the field for the Vipers.
The cross-format Overall MVP table is very tight and incredibly Bryce leads the way, despite not featuring in any Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures due to international commitments. She leads the way from her captain Gordon with Vipers all-rounder Charli Knott and Northern Diamonds captain Armitage close behind. The 50-over competition resumes on Sunday 30 June as the race for the Overall MVP and the £7,500 prize continues.
