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.
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.
Craig Watson
Guest
OH dead Suneer. I wish I had tuned it earlier to your blog. I had no idea who was telecasting the AB Medal. Could not find any info in the tv guides. Did not know CA were live streaming it. Bugger I missed it. Hope they replay it.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
So that's that for this year's Allan Border Medal. Here's a list of all the winners: Allan Border Medal: Steven Smith Test Player of the Year: Steven Smith ODI Player of the Year: Steven Smith T20I Player of the Year: Glenn Maxwell Women's Player of the Year: Meg Lanning Bradman Young Player of the Year: Sean Abbott Domestic Player of the Year: Jason Behrendorff
Mattw
Guest
Surprised he got all 3 but he absolutely deserves them, good on ya smitty!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Smith got 243 votes to 175 for Warner for the Allan Border Medal - Mark Nicholas describes it as a slam dunk.
jamesb
Guest
Good onya Smiffy!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
And not so surprisingly, Smith has won the Allan Border Medal 2015. It's a clean sweep, which is a first I suppose! Thanks his teammates, for all the support they gave him in his Michael Clarke's absence. Speaks of the way the top six batsmen got going for the Sydney Test against India. Congratulates the creation of history and leaving behind a legacy. Thanks the support staff, with special thanks to Michael di Venuto for all the throw-downs. Speaks of the fans for all the support provided, especially during the tough moments over 2014. Thanks of his family for the love, guidance and support provided. Cannot thank his girl-friend enough for "keeping his head in the right place".
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
A touching video remembering the late Phil Hughes follows the Test Player of the Year award. And that's followed by the list of all those who have won the Allan Border Medal before this. Nine of them.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Smith calls the Test series win in South Africa as his best of the year. The century in the first Test against South Africa at Centurion is his favourite ton, he says. 27 votes for Smith 23 for Warner and then the rest.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
The Test Player of the Year will be presented by Matthew Hayden. Hayden has a few kind words for the Gilchrists before he gets down to the business of announcing the winner... ...the four candidates for this award are Mitchell Johnson, Steven Smith, David Warner and Nathan Lyon. And the award goes to Steven Smith! Whoa, that makes it easy to guess who will win the AB Medal!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
We are yet to get to the Test part but that's a pretty decent guess to make.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Gilchrist thanks Marsh for having a huge impact on his life, not only cricket. Congratulates the Ryder family for the award and Belinda Clark for being inducted last year into the Hall of Fame. Mentions how his family, his parents and his siblings played a huge part in his life. "Have tasted the finest chocolates we have to go with the boiled lollies," with Mel, his wife. The ups and downs of life. Exhorts the current cricketers to play hard, play aggressive but to reflect back on the moments whether they could have been handled better. He is probably referring to playing the game in its rightful spirit.
jamesb
Guest
Cricket hall of fame is favourite part.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
So Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Ian Chappell, Tom Moody and Shane Warne are some of the players who feature in a video describing and appreciating Gilchrist's performances over his career. Yes, you heard it right, Warne too.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Two players will be inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame. The players must be retired for at least five years and must have made a significant contribution to the game. An excellent video with Bill Lawry speaking about one of the inductees, Jack Ryder. Rodney Marsh presents that award to his grandson, Peter Ryder. The other player is Adam Gilchrist... ...Marsh speaks of Gilchrist's journey from an under-19 cricketer to an international star, which includes his move to Western Australia after not getting enough chances because of the presence of Phil Emery. Marsh also says he reckons around the time of 2003-04 Gilchrist was the best cricketer in the world, ahead of all those greats - Ponting, Tendulkar, Lara, Kallis.
jamesb
Guest
Well deserved to Behrendorff.
jamesb
Guest
That's the only valid point in that article.
Scuba
Guest
I take it there wasn't a lot of footage in that video from the Test series against Pakistan?
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
That said, there could be some takeaways - for instance more weightage to performances in wins than losses is a valid point.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Jason Behrendorff has won the State Player of the Year award. Justin Langer presents him with the trophy at Canberra and he will look to continue with that same form going into tomorrow's BBL final. Among other people, he thanks the physical conditional guys, and given the number of bowlers falling prey to injuries, they have a tough job on their hands.
jamesb
Guest
Pretty negative article from Ben Dorries. Sure, its not the Brownlow medal. The AB mefal has only being around for 15 years.However, half of the country would struggle to name last years Brownlow winner.