NEW DELHI — 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.
