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2015 Allan Border Medal live coverage, blog

Times have changed, AB. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Roar Guru
27th January, 2015
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Steven Smith and David Warner will be two of the strongest contenders to win the 16th Allan Border Medal night will be held on January 27 in Melbourne you ​can ​follow the live coverage and blog of this event from 6:30pm AEDT.​

We might see a new winner of the prestigious Allan Border Medal tonight as Smith and Warner will hope to join an illustrious list of players who have taken away the title over the past 15 years.

Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson followed Glenn McGrath, who was the first ever winner of the Allan Border Medal and there is every chance that one of Smith or Warner will be unveiled as a part of this group today.

Smith is the leading run-scorer in the eligible period, having scored just three more than Warner. Mitchell Johnson’s 41 wickets is the best effort for Australia with the ball in that same period and he could be an outside chance to win the prize second time in a row.

Warner smashed seven Test centuries in that same period, which was two more than Smith, but the newest Australian Test captain averages more than 85.

And while the the Allan Border Medal is awarded to the best cricketer across all the three formats, there will be separate prizes for the best Test, ODI and T20I cricketer of the year as well.

Given how much weight is given to Test match performances over ODIs and T20Is – it’s six weight points to Tests as opposed to three and two for ODIs and T20Is respectively – it’s not too difficult to see why Smith, Warner and Johnson will continue to remain front-runners for the Test Cricketer of the Year award.

Smith could just edge ahead of Warner because of his performances in ODIs while Aaron Finch, Mitchell Starc, Smith and James Faulkner could all be in running to top this category of the award.

Finch was the best batsman Australia had as far as the top run-getters’ chart is concerned, while Starc picked up 22 wickets. Smith’s three fifties and two centuries gives him an average of almost 50, and Faulkner’s ability to finish games with the bat to go with his accurate mixes of pace make him as one of the front-runners.

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Finch also leads the way in the T20I Player of the Year category but he will have stiff competition from Cameron White who averaged more than 50 in this format last year.

Some of the other awards to look out for will be the Performance of the Year (in all three formats), Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, State Player of the Year and the Women’s International Cricketer of the Year.

You can follow the live blog of this event from ​6.30pm AEDT on Tuesday and post your comments ​in the section ​below.

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