Dawson succeeds last year’s winner, Harry Brook, with Jonny Bairstow (2022), Joe Root (2021), Chris Woakes (2020) and Ben Stokes (2019) also all securing the honour on the strength of their performances for England. Joe Denly was the last county player to land the award, after starring across formats for Kent in 2018.
The Player of the Year award, sponsored by cinch, was one of four that Dawson scooped during the PCA’s gala dinner in London on Tuesday, as he also won the PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP and the Vitality County Championship Player of the Year, in addition to being named as captain in the IG PCA Men’s Team of the Year.
Dawson, who topped a shortlist that included Root, Gus Atkinson and Colin Ingram, said: “It’s a huge honour, the other nominees are all brilliant players and I didn’t expect this, so to win the award is a very proud moment. It’s a real highlight of my career. I had a strong season last year but to have an even better season this year, really tops it off.
“It feels great knowing that the award is voted for by fellow players that you play against week in, week out, so when I finish my career I will look back very fondly on this achievement because it’s something I never thought would happen.”
“It’s been a brilliant year, starting with qualifying for the World Cup and then winning the Charlotte Edwards Cup with The Blaze that was a really fantastic part of the season,” Bryce said, after finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 478 runs, and becoming the first non-English winner of the top award.
“This is a year I will remember for a long time and I want to say a huge thank you to the PCA and cinch as well as everyone who voted for me. I want to keep playing as much cricket as I can in different places around the world, if I can play half as well as this for the years to come, hopefully I’ll have a good career.”
Smith, 24, made an instant impression across formats after making his Test debut against West Indies at Lord’s in June, and also scored 677 runs in Surrey’s latest County Championship triumph.
“It’s been a special summer,” Smith said. “There’s been a lot of achievements to look back on, with Surrey winning three Championships in a row and to play in the Test team and then ending the summer playing against Australia was a great experience.
“The England dressing-room is a great environment to be involved in, I play my best cricket when I’ve got a smile on my face and can go out and be confident and aggressive.”
MacDonald-Gay, meanwhile, said she was “ecstatic” about her award, coming so soon after her England breakthrough.
“Nailing down my skills and performing on the pitch is where my game has grown,” she said. “I’m showing more consistency which is hard when the game has become so much more attacking from the batter’s perspective.”
Neil Bainton and Anna Harris were named as the PCA’s Umpires of the Year, as voted for by the players, while the Rado Recognition award was given to England players Brook and Lauren Bell.
PCA Interim Chief Executive, Daryl Mitchell, said: “It has been another incredible year across men’s and women’s international and domestic cricket. It is always a privilege to celebrate all our winners at the most prestigious awards ceremony in cricket.
“I want to say a huge congratulations to our four main winners at this year’s cinch PCA Awards, all of them have been incredible and deserve their accolades.
“As always, I would like to thank cinch for making the PCA Awards possible and for their support of our game.”