Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey
None of Australia’s men’s Test players will be in attendance for the 2025 Allan Border Medal. The awards, which takes place on Monday February 3 at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, have been labelled as “meaningless” from corners of the media, with fans also questioning the timing given the current tour of Sri Lanka.
According to The Age, Cricket Australia (CA) spoke with broadcasters and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) about holding the awards in January. But, given the Belinda Clark Award is to be announced on the same night, CA decided to lock in February 3 as the official date.
2025 Allan Border Medal to take place without top men’s players
Kane Cornes from Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) was scathing in his review of the 2025 Allan Border Medal. He likened the situation to an AFL Brownlow Medal night without the top contenders present.
“It’s like having the Brownlow Medal and the top eight fancies are ineligible,” Cornes said on SEN, as quoted by news.com.au.
“Even the rusted-on SEN lovers of cricket if you asked them ‘Hey list me off the last five AB medal winners I don’t reckon they could do that’.
“It is the most meaningless award. It just doesn’t mean anything.”
Joel Morrison, head of events at CA, said finding a window where everyone is available was too difficult a task.
“The difference this time will be the fact that the men’s Test team will be over in Sri Lanka. That’s a reflection of the evolution of the global game and the increasing playing opportunities overseas while the awards are on,” Morrison told The Age.
“This is the first time where we literally haven’t been able to find a window where all players can be in the one location at the one time, without conflicting with a BBL game and still holding it in the thick of the cricket season as opposed to at the end of the season for club and state cricket in March.
“It’s the first time we haven’t been able to have the men’s Test team there, but we’ll have our Australian women’s team, WBBL and BBL players, and men’s white-ball players as well.”
Travis Head and Annabel Sutherland tipped to take out top awards
Travis Head and Annabel Sutherland are tipped to win the Allan Border Medal and Belinda Clark Award respectively. Head has struck 1,427 runs across formats since January 2024. Ashes Test hero Sutherland has cemented herself as one of Australia’s top all-rounders.
Head, or any other Australian men’s Test player for that matter, will accept the 2025 Allan Border Medal virtually. This includes Pat Cummins, who is currently in Sydney with a newborn.
Here is the full list of awards to be presented. The awards will be broadcast on Foxtel and Kayo at 8pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT).
- Allan Border Medal
- Belinda Clark Award
- Shane Warne Test Player of the Year
- Men’s ODI Player of the Year
- Women’s ODI Player of the Year
- Men’s T20I Player of the Year
- Men’s Domestic Cricketer of the Year
- Women’s Domestic Cricketer of the Year
- Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year
- Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year
