Star batter Travis Head was named the winner of the prestigious Allan Border Medal for the top Australian men’s cricketer, while young all-rounder Annabel Sutherland was awarded the Belinda Clark Medal at the Australian Cricket Awards held here on Monday. Head, who had an outstanding year across all three formats with 1,427 runs since the start of the polling period, received 208 votes to secure the top honour, surpassing Josh Hazlewood (158 votes) and Pat Cummins (147 votes).
“Pretty hard to believe. It’s been a good year. Very pleased I’ve been able to fit in, do a role, and lucky I’ve been able to play all formats. It’s a nice accomplishment, and I’ll enjoy it,” Head said in a recorded interview from Galle.
The 31-year-old Head also took home the Men’s ODI Player-of-the-Year award and finished second in the Twenty20 and Test Player-of-the-Year awards.
Head won the ODI honours despite figuring in just five of the 11 ODIs that Australia played during the eligibility period. His standout performance, including a magnificent 154 not out against England at Trent Bridge, helped him edge past Alex Carey, Steve Smith, and Xavier Bartlett for the top prize.
For Sutherland, it was a first Australian Cricket Award, which came just days after her maiden Test century at the MCG, becoming the first woman to make a ton on that ground.
The 23-year-old all-rounder began the 12-month voting period with an impressive 210 against South Africa at the WACA and later scored her third Test century — a brilliant 163 in the Ashes.
Sutherland received 168 votes, surpassing Ashleigh Gardner (143 votes) and Beth Mooney (115 votes) to win the Belinda Clark Medal.
“Pretty surreal. To win an award named after Belinda Clark is pretty special,” said Sutherland.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed the Men’s Test Player-of-the-Year award. It marked his first Australian Cricket Award, with Hazlewood taking 30 wickets at just 13.16 in Tests against the West Indies, New Zealand, and India.
Young cricketer Sam Konstas, who made an impressive debut at 19 during the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, was named Young Cricketer of the Year. Konstas scored 113 runs across the last two Tests, including a memorable 60 off 65 balls on debut.
He became an instant sensation after he took down star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who had been a menace to Australian batters throughout the five-Test series, which Australia ultimately won 3-1.
Though the award night was devoid of the stars, as they were busy in the ongoing Test series in Sri Lanka, allrounder Mitchell Marsh stole the spotlight with a hilarious Bumrah anecdote that had the audience in stitches at the Crown Casino here.
“My little nephew, Ted, is four years old. We played backyard cricket the other day, and he came in with Bumrah’s action… and the nightmare continues,” Marsh joked.
In other awards, Ashleigh Gardner was named Women’s ODI Player of the Year after finishing as Australia’s leading run-scorer in the format with 385 runs. Beth Mooney was crowned Women’s T20 Player of the Year for the third time, having scored 618 runs during the voting period.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa won Men’s T20I Player of the Year after taking 35 wickets in 21 T20Is, edging out Head by three votes. Cameron Green was awarded the Community Impact Award for his efforts in raising awareness about kidney disease.
The award ceremony also saw Michael Clarke, Michael Bevan, and Christina Matthews inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
Other awardees included Beau Webster and Georgia Voll, who won Men’s and Women’s Domestic Player of the Year, and Chloe Ainsworth, who was named Young Cricketer of the Year. Glenn Maxwell and Cooper Connolly were named joint winners of the BBL Player of the Tournament, while Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen shared the WBBL Player of the Tournament award.
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