Sydney: Batters Beth Mooney and Steve Smith capped their prolific years with the bat to bag top honours at the Australian Cricket Awards held in Sydney on Monday. Beth claimed her second Belinda Clark Award, following a season where across three formats she amassed 976 runs at an average of 65.1 and a strike rate of 102.6.
Beth, the 29-year-old left-handed opener, also took out the Women’s ODI Player of the Year, which included Australia’s 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup triumph in New Zealand, where she scored an unbeaten 62 off 47 balls in the final. In the final Belinda Clark Medal tally, she got 129 votes, ahead of runner-up Meg Lanning (110) and Tahlia McGrath (95) in third place.
Smith joined Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting as the only players to win the Allan Border Medal four times, following a season in which the 33-year-old scored 1547 runs in 32 matches across all three formats at an average of 55.3.
More than half of the runs scored by Smith were in the Test arena, where he amassed 863 at an average of 71.92. In the final Allan Border Medal tally, Smith (171 votes) outpolled Travis Head (144 votes) and David Warner (141 votes).
Tahlia was voted the Women’s T20I Player of the Year after an incredible 12 months in the shortest format. She averaged 62.14 with the bat and just 12.84 with the ball across the voting period, in which the Australian team lost only one match.
Usman Khawaja took out the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year Award, following an incredible return to the Australian team. Khawaja scored 1020 runs in the voting period at an average of 78.46, hitting three centuries.
In addition to being the leading run-scorer in men’s Test Cricket for Australia in 2022, Khawaja’s off-field contributions also earned him recognition with the Community Impact Award. The Australian opener’s Usman Khawaja Foundation helps young people from disadvantaged communities by providing educational and cricketing opportunities.
Warner claimed his third Men’s ODI Player of Year, after scoring 552 runs at the top of the order at an average of 42.5, making four half-centuries and one hundred in 13 matches.
Marcus Stoinis took out the Men’s T20 International Player of the Year for the first time, with the all-rounder striking at an incredible 168.5 within the voting period. In addition to his 347 runs at an average of 31.6, Stoinis also claimed eight wickets.
Australia’s top domestic cricketers were also acknowledged with Queensland’s Michael Neser and Victoria’s Annabel Sutherland taking out the Men’s and Women’s Domestic Player of the Year Awards, which includes matches in all formats.
Adelaide Strikers’ Matt Short won the BBL Season 12 Player of the Year Award, while Ashleigh Gardiner from the Sydney Sixers was the BBL Season 8 Player of the Year Award winner.
Full List of Award winners
Belinda Clark Award – Beth Mooney (129 votes)
2nd: Meg Lanning (110 votes)
3rd: Tahlia McGrath (95 votes)
Allan Border Medal – Steve Smith (171 votes)
Travis Head (144 votes)
David Warner (141 votes)
Women’s ODI Player of the Year – Beth Mooney
Women’s T20I Player of the Year – Tahlia McGrath
Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year – Usman Khawaja
Men’s ODI Player of the Year – David Warner
Men’s T20I Player of the Year – Marcus Stoinis
Women’s Domestic Player of the Year – Annabel Sutherland
Men’s Domestic Player of the Year – Michael Neser
Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year – Courtney Sippel
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year – Lance Morris
Community Champion Award – Usman Khawaja
Woolworths Cricket Blaster of the Year – Mabel Tovey
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees – Marg Jennings and Ian Redpath
–IANS