David Warner receives top prize at Australian Cricket Awards

MELBOURNE: David Warner has won the headline Allan Border Medal at the Australian Cricket Awards while Men’s Test Player of the Year went to breakout batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne.

Ellyse Perry received the Belinda Clark Medal making it the third such win for her, while Alyssa Healy also won big, taking home both Women’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year.

The Belinda Clark Medal and Allan Border Medal are awarded to the players from the women’s and men’s side respectively, voted by players, umpires and media from across all international cricket. Both players won their first such award in 2016, with Warner picking it up a second time in 2017 and Perry in  2018.

Warner had a superb campaign during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, scoring 647 runs across the tournament. He smashed the highest individual innings of the tournament – a mammoth 147-ball 166 against Bangladesh during the group stage.

He struck the second-highest ever Test score by an Australian making an unbeaten 335 in 418 balls against Pakistan in Adelaide. Warner also took home the Men’s T20I Player of the Year award, while his opening partner Aaron Finch won the Men’s ODI Player of the Year.

Marnus Labuschagne took the honour of Men’s Test Player of the Year, after an incredible run of form in which he has scored 1249 runs in 15 innings. He came as a substitute during the Ashes for Steve Smith.

Perry had a bumper year and was a central figure in Australia’s dominant Ashes performance. She scored a brilliant 116 in the only Test of the series played in Taunton, and also took record figures of 7/22 in the Canterbury ODI. She finished the series with 378 runs and 15 wickets, topping both charts across both teams. She also put in strong performances in the West Indies and at home against Sri Lanka.

Wicket-keeper Alyssa Healy won Women’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year after scoring more than 1000 runs across the two formats in 2019, including a record 148 not out in a T20I against Sri Lanka in Sydney.