Travis Head wins Allan Border Medal for second consecutive year
What's the story
Travis Head has won the prestigious Allan Border Medal for the second consecutive year. The Australian dasher narrowly beat teammate Alex Carey by a solitary vote to claim the top men's award in Australian cricket. The medal was awarded to Head after a stellar performance during the Ashes series, where he scored 629 runs at an impressive strike rate of 87.36, including three centuries.
Stellar innings
Head's Ashes heroics and more
Head's Ashes journey started when he replaced the injured Usman Khawaja for a run chase in Perth.
He stunned England with a blistering 123 off just 83 balls.
He followed that up with two more centuries, scoring 170 in Adelaide and another 163 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
These performances were instrumental in his winning the Allan Border Medal for the second time.
Achievements
Head joins elite group of cricketers
With this win, Head has joined an elite group of cricketers who have won the Allan Border Medal multiple times.
The list includes legends like Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, and Steven Smith (four times), David Warner (three times), and Shane Watson (twice).
Overall, in 11 Tests during the voting period, Head scored a whopping 971 runs at 46.23, nearly 200 more than Carey's tally of 778 runs at 48.62.
Starc's achievement
Mitchell Starc awarded Shane Warne Test Player of the Year
Mitchell Starc, who was the Player of the Series in the Ashes, was awarded the Shane Warne Test Player of the Year.
He took 52 wickets at an average of 17.80 during this period.
His performance included a stunning 31 wickets against England at an average of 19.93 while leading a depleted attack missing Josh Hazlewood throughout and Pat Cummins for all but one match.
Carey's performance
Carey's stellar performance & white-ball honors
Despite finishing just behind Head in the overall voting, Carey's all-round contributions with bat and gloves were commendable.
He scored two Test centuries during this period, 156 against Sri Lanka in Galle and 106 against England in Adelaide.
While Mitchell Marsh was named ODI Player of the Year for making 304 runs at 60.80 in six matches, Tim David took the T20I award for scoring 395 runs at 49.37 and a strike rate of 197.50.