Discover the journey of Brisbane Heat’s Charli Knott following stellar WBBL season

Her name is popping up in conversations for higher honours, but who is Charli Knott? What’s the key to her success? We uncover the story behind the breakout star.

Charli Knott is hopping to top her breakout season with a WBBL title on Saturday night. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

For some batters, one drastic technical adjustment can be the catalyst to change fortunes at the crease.

For others, it’s a simple matter of fine-tuning the foundation they already have.

For rising Brisbane Heat talent Charli Knott, it’s definitely the latter and the effect has been profound.

Following the Heat’s shattering WBBL final loss, returns of 184 runs and 10 wickets from the three WBBL seasons prior morphed into 283 runs and another 10 wickets in this year’s instalment alone.

“I definitely haven’t changed anything major,” Knott reflects on what may have contributed to her breakout season.

“I’ve been working a fair bit on my T20 game this pre-season, so that’s helped for sure.

“Just freeing my hands up a little so I can get a more free-flowing swing. Less focus on technique, more focus on run-scoring.

Charli Knott has been in great form this WBBL campaign.

“That’s the main thing, nothing too outrageous, just little tweaks.”

But it isn’t merely the runs that have been scored, rather the manner in which they have come that are turning heads.

Over her four seasons, a strikerate that began at 72, inched its way to 90 and then settled at 112, has exploded to 146 this year.

It’s that middle-to-late innings firepower that culminated in the 21-year-old winning the coveted Young Gun award as the best young player for WBBL 09.

It’s an award given out by the national selection panel, and every player to win it has gone on to either represent Australia or be part of a national squad.

Charli Knott can give the ball a rip.

“It’s definitely a goal of mine … I want to play for Australia one day, I hope that happens,” Knott said.

“I’ll just keep focusing on my game and keep trying to develop it, so if I do get the chance I’m ready.”

Despite her name moving into conversations for higher honours, Knott insisted her focus remained on excelling in her domestic commitments.

“We’ve had fairly even contributions from a lot of players, we don’t tend to rely on anyone too heavily,” she said on the foundations of Brisbane’s success this season.

“If one person doesn’t do too well, someone else can step up and make a contribution.

“If you look through our games, our scorecard doesn’t look great, but we end up scoring 160 because we’ve all kind of chipped in and made 20s, which I think has definitely helped.”

Where it all began

Having come within one game of a maiden WBBL title, Knott’s journey to date has been an unconventional one.

Earning her Heat contract while still in grade 10 at school, she made her debut two years later while in the midst of year 12 exams, and the isolation of a Covid-induced hub, something she insists was a “good experience”.

But before Covid had grasped the headlines or high school exams had even been a thought that entered Knott’s mind, she was discovering her love for the game on the humble grounds of Mackay.

Cricket was a passion that stemmed from her dad.

Mackay local Charli Knott passing her wisdom onto junior players.

“He played cricket when he was younger and we played lots of backyard cricket,” Knott reflected.

The Brothers and Magpies junior didn’t waste time forcing her way into the state’s talent pathways either, earning Queensland selection as an U12 among other representative honours.

It was at that point the foundation that launched the middle-order firebrand you see on your screens today, began forming.

“I started taking it a bit more seriously and he would take me to the nets after school,” Knott said.

“That was mostly where I learnt everything.”