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Australian vice-captain and dynamic opening batsman David Warner waltzed away with his first Allan Border Medal and first Test Cricketer of the Year awards in Melbourne last night.
But it was a mighty tough night for Australian skipper Steve Smith, who won all three awards last year, and Mitchell Starc, who was in front-line contention for all three. Both came away empty-handed.
To complete a shock three winners, Glenn Maxwell took out the ODI Cricketer of the Year award.
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The final voting for the 17th Allan Border Medal:
David Warner – 240
Steve Smith – 219
Mitchell Starc – 183
Josh Hazlewood – 105
Adam Voges – 96
Glenn Maxwell – 92
The final three in contention for the first major award of the night – the ODI Cricketer of the Year – in no particular order were Maxwell, Starc and Mitch Marsh. We found out later Smith finished fourth, Warner fifth, with Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch equal fifth.
The final three in contention for the Test Cricketer of the Year were Smith, Starc, and Warner in no particular order. Later in the night it was made known Voges finished fourth, Hazlewood fifth, Nathan Lyon sixth, Chris Rogers sixth, and Peter Nevill seventh.
No points were given on either awards, as it would have made public who was leading for the Allan Border Medal, the last presentation of the night.
Few could have predicted the three outcomes. It was shocks across the board.
Smith was odds-on to win the Test award, Starc the same for the ODI, with both of them front-runners for the AB Medal, with Warner in the mix.
There has never been a Border night like it in the previous 16.
The other awards were warmly received – Ellyse Perry as the Women’s International Cricketer of the Year, Alex Ross as the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, and Voges as Domestic Player of the Year.
One of the real highlights of the night was the induction of the late, great Test keeper Wally Grout into the Hall of Fame – one of the greatest blokes it has been my privilege to know well.
Fellow Queenslander and former Test keeper Ian Healy inducted Grout and did a superb job, as did Wally’s daughter Nelma in accepting the award, with Wally’s wife Joyce a guest of honour.
But the star of the night was Jeffrey Robert Thomson, who was also inducted into the Hall of Fame.
He was introduced by his former skipper Ian Chappell, whose first words were “He wasn’t a fast bowler – he was bloody fast, the most lethal bowler I’ve ever seen.”
Among many classical Thommo stories that are cemented in cricket folklore, Ian recalled Thommo’s pre-season training was three weeks of deep-sea fishing off Cairns.
Greg Chappell was his Queensland captain, and Thommo started the season bowling a heap of wides and no-balls. Greg gave him a mouthful, saying, “Get it right!”
“Hey skipper, can you remember whether I take 14 or 16 paces?” was Thommo’s reply.
So Ian Chappell set the scene, and Thommo took the baton.
In five minutes of pure Thommo, he had the vast audience at the Crown Palladium in stitches, with one-liners such as:
“I don’t know how they can play 12 months of the year, no wonder they keep breaking down.”
“My Mum is 97, I can’t live that long the way I drink, I’ll soon run out of money.”
Thanking his wife of 40 years, Cheryl, who was in the audience, “I don’t know how she put up with me being away so often, not like these days with the wives touring.
“On the rare times we had our wives on tour we had to smuggle them into some s**thole hotel down the road, they sure didn’t get it easy.”
Thommo’s acceptance was all too short, but it won’t soon be forgotten.