Last Updated on 22 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
Travis Head has won consecutive Allan Border Medals, edging Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc in one of the tightest voting outcomes in recent memory. Head finished only one vote ahead of Carey, with Starc three votes back at the end of the count.
The award capped another fine season in which Head cemented his standing as Australia’s Test opener. He scored 629 runs at a strike rate of 87.36 in the Ashes series, including three centuries.
Head was given the chance to open the batting after Usman Khawaja got injured during the Perth Test. He took full advantage, smashing 123 off just 83 balls during Australia’s successful run chase. That innings was followed by 170 at Adelaide and 163 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
With this achievement, Head became just the sixth player to win the Allan Border Medal more than once. Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Steven Smith have each won the award four times, while David Warner has three. The only other player to have won it more than once is Shane Watson, who won it twice.
This time, it was Border himself who gave Head his second medal in a quiet ceremony in Brisbane before the team flew to Darwin for the first Test against Bangladesh. Last year, Head was presented his medal by coach Andrew McDonald at a hotel in Galle.
Travis Head on receiving the Medal From Allan Border himself
“Very privileged and honoured to have someone like AB in the room”, Head said, as quoted by Cricinfo.
“I think that’s probably the difference between the two of them [last year], is having him there, having him present it. It’s something you look back on, and to have that in a picture frame later in your career, to sit there and think that I’ve got two medals and your kids can look at them and I can tell them how good I am in 20 years’ time is pretty cool.
“It’s crazy to think you’re in that sort of category [of other winners]. I look back as a young kid and look what Smudge [Smith] did to go back-to-back through those years, and he piled on a lot more runs than what I did, certainly, and dominated world cricket a lot more than me, but it’s cool to have [wins against] India and England in there and have Ashes series in there.”
Head said he wasn’t expecting to win the award, with huge assignments ahead at the forefront of his mind.
“Again, individual accolades and runs, and all those things I’ve never really been too worried about,” Head said. “That’s why I rocked up tonight not expecting anything. To win an Ashes series is incredible. To have an opportunity to maybe win a Border-Gavaskar away, to win an Ashes away, to win a World Cup away in South Africa later in the next year, that’s all I’m sorely worried about, but first we’ve got to play really well against Bangladesh next week.
“We’ve got a huge opportunity against South Africa, and then we play New Zealand, who are playing exceptionally good cricket. So our work’s going to be cut out. I’m just pleased to be playing well, and let’s hope it continues,” Travis Head said.
Mitchell Starc won Test Cricketer of the Year for his contribution in the Ashes
Mitchell Starc was named Shane Warne Test Player of the Year following yet another stellar season with the ball. He finished third in the Allan Border Medal voting but his Test cricket displays were the highlight of his year.
Starc’s 52 wickets came at a stellar average of 17.80. His efforts also earned him Player of the Series in the Ashes, with 31 wickets at 19.93. He bore a heavy burden with Australia’s pace attack missing Josh Hazlewood for the entire series and captain Pat Cummins playing only one match.
One of Starc’s season highlights came in the third Test against West Indies in Jamaica. He finished with match figures of 6/9, reaching 400 Test wickets in his landmark 100th Test appearance to add another memorable chapter to an already remarkable international career. West Indies were rolled for 27.
Mitchell Marsh was named ODI Player of the Year with 304 runs at 60.80 in six matches. Tim David took the T20I award with 395 runs at 49.37 and a strike rate of 197.50.
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