Cricket Australia Awards: Mitchell Starc bags Allan Border medal, becomes fifth Australian pacer to achieve the feat

Mitchell Starc has won the Allan Border Medal and is the fifth Australian pacer to do so. Starc was competing with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh but the left-arm pacer won the award as Marsh received 106 votes against Starc’s 107.

Starc had a great year with the ball in all formats in 2021. In five Tests, the 31-year-old picked 17 wickets averaging 33.24 while in ODIs, he scalped for 11 batters and also 13 wickets in T20Is at a strike rate of 23.08.

Apart from Starc, the other fast bowlers to win the Allan Border medal are Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and current Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins. He also won the Men’s ODI player of the year. Meanwhile, Marsh won the T20 player of the year for his exceptional performances last year. He amassed 627 runs in 20 games at a strike rate of close to 130.

Travis Head, who had a stellar time with the bat with two centuries in the Ashes, won the Men’s Test player of the year. He also won the Men’s domestic player of the year. Australia Women’s cricketer Ashleigh Gardener won the Belinda Clark award for emerging as the top player of the team.

List of Award Winners

Belinda Clark Award

Winner: Ashleigh Gardner (54 votes)

Allan Border Medal

Winner: Mitchell Starc (107 votes)

Men’s Test Player of the Year

Winner: Travis Head (12 votes)

Women’s ODI Player of the Year

Winner: Alyssa Healy (13 votes)

Men’s ODI Player of the Year

Winner: Mitchell Starc (15 votes)

Women’s T20 Player of the Year

Winner: Beth Mooney (13 votes)

Men’s T20 Player of the Year

Winner: Mitchell Marsh (53 votes)

Women’s Domestic Player of the Year

Winner: Elyse Villani

Men’s Domestic Player of the Year

Winner: Travis Head