New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) All-rounder Annabel Sutherland and left-handed opener Travis Head have clinched top honours at the Australian Cricket Awards in Melbourne by winning the Belinda Clark Award and Allan Border Medal respectively on Monday. Annabel got 168 votes ahead of runner-up Ashleigh Gardner (143) and third-placed Beth Mooney (115) to win the Belinda Clark Award for the first time.
This huge achievement by Annabel comes less than a week after she scored a century in the Women’s Ashes Test win over England at the MCG.
Annabel was outstanding in all formats throughout the season, during which Australia completed series victories over India, New Zealand, and England without losing a match. She amassed 798 runs at an average of 46.94 and picked 34 wickets while averaging 20.82.
Selected in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year, Annabel was also outstanding in the two Test matches Australia played – making 210 against South Africa in Perth in the previous season, and recently becoming the first woman to hit a Test century at the MCG in a Player of the Match performance against England.
On the other hand, Travis Head got 208 votes as compared to Josh Hazlewood (158 votes) and Pat Cummins (147 votes) to get his first Allan Border Medal after having a year where he scored 1427 runs at an average of 43.24, including hitting five half-centuries and four hundreds across all three formats.
Head also won the Men’s ODI Player of the Year Award, edging out Alex Carey off the back of a dominant performance in Australia’s tour of the United Kingdom, whose highlight moment came when he scored an unbeaten 154 off 129 balls in Australia’s win in the first ODI at Nottingham.
Ashleigh won the Women’s ODI Player of the Year Award after scoring 385 runs at an average of 38.5 and taking 23 wickets at 15.52. Beth’s consistency with the bat saw her bag the Women’s T20I Player of the Year award, scoring 618 runs at an average of 47.53 with a strike rate of 129.83.
Fast-bowler Hazlewood won the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year Award by taking 30 wickets at an incredible average of just 13.17, with two five-wicket hauls. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa won the Men’s T20I Player of the Year after having a consistent year where he took 35 wickets at an average of 17.2.
Glenn Maxwell and Cooper Connolly were joint winners of the BBL Player of the Tournament award, while Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen also jointly won the WBBL Player of the Tournament honour.
Maxwell finished as the fourth-highest run scorer in the recent BBL season, scoring 297 runs at an incredible strike rate of 194.12, while Connolly averaged over 50 with the bat and regularly anchored the Perth Scorchers innings.
On the other hand, Ellyse topped the run-scorers list with 424 runs at an average of 53 and was named in the WBBL Team of the Tournament for the sixth time. Jess, meanwhile, led Brisbane Heat to the WBBL final, taking 14 wickets at 18 as well as scoring 174 runs at an average of 34 with four unbeaten knocks in nine innings.
All-rounder Cameron Green was voted the winner of the Community Impact Award after dedicating over 100 hours to the Chronic Kidney Disease cause. Green has been a leading Ambassador for Kidney Health Australia, sharing his own battles with kidney disease to raise awareness and reach younger audiences who may have never considered the condition or been tested.
Pace bowling all-rounder Chloe Ainsworth won the Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year award, while Australia opener Sam Konstas was adjudged the winner of the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award.
Georgia Voll, who had a memorable debut ODI series against India, won the Women’s Domestic Player of the Year Award, while Beau Webster, who made a strong impression on debut in the Sydney Test against India, was adjudged as the winner of Men’s Domestic Player of the Year award.
–IANS
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