Warner wins Allan Border Medal, Perry claims Belinda Clark Award
Warner also claims Test Player of the Year award;
Maxwell wins ODI Player of the Year award; Voges named Domestic Player of the Year; Ross is Bradman Young Cricketer
Winners announced at Allan Border Medal awards evening in Melbourne
David Warner on Wednesday night became just the eleventh player to receive Australian cricket’s greatest individual honour when he was named the Allan Border Medallist for 2016.
And the 29 year-old from New South Wales, who was elevated to the Test and One-Day International vice-captaincy during the voting period, also collected Test Player of the Year honours.
Glenn Maxwell was named One-Day International (ODI) Player of the Year, while Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars all-rounder Ellyse Perry won her first Belinda Clark Award for the country’s best-performed female player.
Western Australia and Perth Scorchers captain Adam Voges secured the award for the Domestic Player of the Year while South Australian and Adelaide Strikers batsman Alex Ross was named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.
Jeff Thomson and Wally Grout were also formally inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame to complete cricket’s night of nights at Crown in Melbourne.
Warner polled a total of 240 votes in the Allan Border Medal count to finish ahead of Australia captain and last year’s Allan Border Medallist Steve Smith, who collected 219 votes during the same period. Mitchell Starc (183) finished third in the count, despite missing a large portion of the 2015-16 summer with injury.
Warner registered*six centuries and nine half-centuries*at a blistering strike-rate of 90.91*during the voting period*that started with the Carlton-Mid ODI against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 16 January 2015 and ran through to the third Commonwealth Bank Test against the West Indies that wrapped up on 7 January this year.
In total he scored 1990 runs for Australia across the three formats of Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at*56.86, including*a highest score of 253 in the second Commonwealth Bank Test against New Zealand at the WACA Ground in Perth.*
His efforts in the Test arena saw him register 30 votes for the period, ahead of Steve Smith (24 votes) and Mitchell Starc (18 votes).*
Reflecting on his two awards, the left-hander said: “I was really nervous and can’t believe I have got across the line (to win both the Test Player of the Year Award and the Allan Border Medal). I think I am going to have to sit down over the next couple of weeks and let it all sink in.
“I have had to turn myself around and my wife Candice has been a huge part of that. I have wanted to be a big part of the Australian team and she has always told me to set myself goals and to keep believing in myself.
“I set my goals as going out there and doing what I can for the team, and trying to score hundreds is my goal – and big hundreds. I have been lucky enough to be playing cricket with my mates and I am passionate about that.”
In ODIs, Glenn Maxwell (28 votes) edged out Mitchell Starc (25 votes) and Mitchell Marsh (23 votes) for player-of-the-year honours. Throughout the voting period, the Victorian averaged 46 with the bat at a strike rate of 135.86 from 19 matches. During that time, he registered his maiden ODI hundred off just 51*balls against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the ICC Cricket World Cup.*
The 27 year-old said: “It is pretty exciting to win this award and it is pretty exciting to think about how much success we have had over the past 12 months.
“The (ICC Cricket) World Cup was something else, and to win this award in a year when we won a Cricket World Cup in our home country is an absolute honour. It is pretty special.”
Ellyse Perry’s Ashes-winning performances in the United Kingdom last year saw her claim the Belinda Clark Award.
Perry*dominated the Women’s Ashes with both bat and ball. Not only did it see her win player-of-the-series honours in the UK, but it also saw her*poll 33 votes for the Belinda Clark Award to edge out captain and dual Belinda Clark Award winner Meg Lanning (20 votes) and Rene Farrell (15 votes).
In her 10 matches, the 25-year-old was Australia’s leading run scorer (375 runs) and wicket-taker (17). During that time she claimed*career-best figures of 6-32 in the one-off Ashes Test at Canterbury, the best bowling figures for the Southern Stars since Betty Wilson’s 6-28 in 1948.
Commenting on the award, Perry said: “It is a tremendous honour for me to win this award, especially as it is named after Belinda Clark, one of the greatest female players ever to play the game.
“It is a testament to all the people who have helped me out throughout my career and, in particular, my dad who has been my coach since I was about six years old.
“It is lovely to have individual honours like this but just as great is to see the women’s game continuing to grow
Adam Voges enjoyed another fine year at domestic level. During the 2015 calendar year the West Australian scored 1232 runs at 64.84. Voges received 32 per cent of the player votes to finish narrowly ahead of teammate Michael Klinger (30 per cent), and Callum Ferguson (12 per cent).
Adam Voges said: “It is terrific to win this award and, as a player, it is the highest honour you can be given to be recognised by your peers in this way.
“It has been an incredible 12 months and if I thought a year ago that I would have achieved what I have then I probably would not have believed you.”
South Australian Alex Ross was named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, which is open to any player who was aged 24 or under and had not played more than 10 first-class matches at the start of the voting period.
In the 2015 calendar year, the 23 year-old right-hand batsman scored five hundreds for South Australia. Ross was the standout young player in the eyes of his peers with 31 per cent of the vote. Victoria’s Travis Dean (24 per cent) and Western Australia’s Joel Paris (21 per cent) polled the bulk of the remaining votes.
Alex Ross said: “The carrot at the end of the line is to go on and achieve international honours but all I need to focus on now is finishing the season strongly with the Redbacks.”
The Allan Border Medal awards ceremony began in 2000. Named after one of Australia’s greatest players and the man who, in 1987, became the first Australian to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup, it recognises the country’s leading players.
Audio of the post-event media conferences with David Warner, Ellyse Perry, Glenn Maxwell, Adam Voges and Alex Ross can be found here:
http://bit.ly/1ugA5ku
Below are the vote tallies for the leading contenders in each category awarded.
Award winners
•
Allan Border Medal – David Warner
• Belinda Clark Award – Ellyse Perry
• Test Player of the Year – David Warner
• One-Day International Player of the Year – Glenn Maxwell
• Domestic Player of the Year – Adam Voges (Western Australia/Perth Scorchers)
• Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year – Alex Ross (South Australia/Adelaide Strikers)
Voting tallies:
Allan Border Medallist – David Warner*(240 votes)
Runners up for the award:
Steve Smith (219 votes)
Mitchell Starc (183 votes)
Belinda Clark Medallist –*Ellyse*Perry*(33 votes)
Runners up for the award:
Meg Lanning (20 votes)
Rene Farrell (15 votes)
Test Player of the Year – David Warner*(30 votes)
Runners up for the award:
Steve Smith (24 votes)
Mitchell Starc (18 votes)
ODI Player of the Year – Glenn Maxwell (28 votes)
Runners up for the award:
Mitchell Starc (25 votes)
Mitchell Marsh (23 votes)
Domestic Player of the Year – Adam*Voges*(32.41% of the vote)
Runners up for the award:
Michael Klinger with 30.56% of the vote
Callum Ferguson with 12.04% of the vote
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year – Alex Ross (31.86% of the vote)
Runners up for the award:
Travis Dean with 24.24% of the vote
Joel Paris with 21.24% of the vote
