Head edges out unlucky Boland to win Ashes player of the series award

Travis Head was rewarded for his stunning effort with the bat in a bowler-dominated series to win the Compton-Miller Medal.

The Ashes series came to a premature end after the third night of the fifth Test at Hobart when England collapsed in their second innings to be all out for 124 to lose by 146 runs.

Head was named man of the match for his whirlwind 101 in the first innings and doubled up to win player of the series after being the leading run-scorer.

Head topped the standings with 357 runs at 59.5 to edge out teammate Marnus Labuschagne (335) and English skipper Joe Root, who made 322 runs after departing for 11 in the second innings at Hobart.

Head scored two of the only six hundreds of the Ashes, a superb 152 in the first Test in Brisbane and a counterattacking ton on day one of the series finale.

His cause was hampered by being forced out of the fourth Test in Sydney after contracting COVID-19.

Three members of Australia’s bowling attack were also in contention for the award.

Victorian seamer Scott Boland was considered unlucky by many to miss out on the award after he took Test cricket by storm since getting his chance on Boxing Day at his home track, the MCG.

Boland nabbed 18 wickets at an average of 9.55, highlighted by his scarcely believable spell of 6-7 in the third Test.

“For me it’s 10 years in the making. I debuted for Victoria 10 years ago,” he said.

“I didn’t see this coming two months ago so I’m over the moon. It’s been great.”

Pat Cummins was also at the forefront of Australia’s crushing series victory in his first foray as Test skipper. After picking up three victims in the final innings of the series, he moved up to be the leading wicket-taker with 21 at 18.04 after earlier bagging four in England’s first dig at Hobart.

Mitchell Starc shot up to 19 on the third night at Blundstone Arena, at a slightly higher clip of 25.36, but also shone with the bat, making 155 runs at 38.75 to prove a double-edged thorn in England’s side.

Young all-rounder Cameron Green made a late bid for consideration with his eye-catching performance in Hobart, featuring a hard-hitting 74 on day one and a superb three-wicket spell on the third evening.

Normally there is a standout player over the course of five Tests like Steve Smith’s monster performance in the last series in England in 2019. This series featured several players making their mark without dominating proceedings.

The Medal, named after former England batter Dennis Compton and legendary Australian all-rounder Keith Miller, has been awarded since the memorable 2005 series.

Andrew Flintoff was the inaugural winner followed by the likes of Ricky Ponting (2006-07), Andrew Strauss (2009), Alastair Cook (2010-11), Ian Bell (2013), Mitchell Johnson (2013-14), Joe Root (2015) and Smith again in 2017-18.