Michael Clarke with his fourth Allan Border Medal. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
MICHAEL Clarke capped the most prolific batting year in Australian Test history with the 2013 Allan Border Medal.
An emotional Clarke choked back tears as he joined Ricky Ponting as the award's only four-time winner, polling 198 votes to finish well clear of his teammates despite playing little more than half of the one-day internationals and no Twenty20 internationals.
The retired Mike Hussey and injury-plagued Shane Watson tied for second on 165, highlighting the importance of Clarke to his young teammates in a massive year ahead.
But Clarke was typically modest in assessing his triumph, deferring personal glory to the Australia's ongoing success was paramount.
"It's nice to win an Allan Border Medal and it's just as special as the first one, but I'd like to see the team up there winning awards more than individual players," he said.
The Australian skipper pounded 1080 runs in nine matches in the voting period between February 25, 2012, and January 28 this year at an average of 77.1 -- the lion's share of his national record 1595 runs in calendar year 2012.
Clarke said "a lot of luck and hard work" had gone into the result, harking back to his axing from the national team in 2005 as the turning point.
Michael Clarke accepts his award from Allan Border. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
"It was a tough time when I got dropped from the Test team, but I think that's probably the time in my life when I realised I had to work a lot harder than I was to stay in the Australian team," Clarke said.
"When I got dropped, scoring one run seemed a long way away, let alone winning an AB Medal.
"When I first came into the Australian team, the senior players regularly spoke to me about not being in such a rush, being more patient and trying to be as consistent as I could through the good and bad times.
"As a young player with no patience and always in a rush, that was quite difficult.
"When I got dropped it made me stop and reflect on the areas I wasn't giving 100 per cent ... and I think that changed my attitude (so that) everything off the field had to come second.
"The scary thing about getting dropped is you never know if you're going to play again for Australia and credit to all the boys who've been dropped, come back and get a second chance to play for Australia -- it's not an easy thing to do."
Michael Clarke receives a kiss from his wife Kyly after winning his fourth Allan Border Medal. Source: Getty Images
Clarke, who won the 2005, 2009 (with Ponting) and 2012 medals, was the standout player throughout home series against South Africa and Sri Lanka and polled in two of the three matches in the West Indies to also be anointed Test player of the year on 22 votes ahead of Mike Hussey (15) and Matthew Wade (12).
But it was his back-to-back double-centuries -- an unbeaten 259 at the Gabba followed by 230 at the Adelaide Oval -- against the Proteas in November that made him bulletproof in voting, with Test match performances outweighing the shorter games.
Clarke finished sixth in the one-day international voting on 22, just eight off the winner's pace, despite playing in just 13 of 24 counting matches.
The 31-year-old, whose three centuries excluded the triple and double-centuries he scored against India in 2012 outside the voting period, also took six wickets including a stunning 5-86 in Dominica for his second career "five-for" haul.
To cap a great year, his century in the MCG Boxing Day Test gave him the full set of centuries at each major Australian Test venue, another dream fulfilled.
Victorian paceman Clint McKay was crowned Australia's ODI cricketer of the year. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
Surprise packet McKay steals one-day gongCLINT McKay added his name to an illustrious list when crowned Australia's one-day international player of the year.
The consistent Victorian paceman, renowned for his change of pace and ability to curb scoring rates late in opposition innings, clearly led Australia's bowling stocks through the ODI season, taking 26 wickets at 25.8 in his 18 matches and was stunned to upset some of the more high-profile names.
"I'm lost for words, it's not something I expected at all," McKay said.
"To win an award that's voted by your peers, it' something you treasure dearly.
"It's been a long ride, a long process over 7-8 years ... but going through the ranks, it's been fantastic."
Where the batting honours were more evenly contested, McKay shouldered by far the bulk of the bowling load, either leading or second in several key bowling statistics -- overs bowled, maidens, best analysis and economy rate.
McKay, 29, took full votes from his match-winning 5-28 against Sri Lanka in Adelaide in March, but polled in nine other matches to finish on 30 votes, two clear of a tie for second between George Bailey and David Warner.
David Hussey was fourth on 27 votes from Australia's full quota of 24 matches, while Shane Watson (23) and Michael Clarke (22) were also close up despite playing in little more than half the games.
McKay joins Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Nathan Bracken as the only bowlers to have won the top 50-over gong.
Shane Watson at his explosive best during the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Source:
Watson wins second straight T20 award
SHANE Watson's slashing World Cup paved the way for his second consecutive T20 player of the year award tonight.
Watson, whose sublime World Cup featured 249 runs at at average of 49.8 and 11 wickets at 16, led Australia to the semi-finals of the global tournament in Sri Lanka in October with an unprecedented four consecutive man-of-the-match awards.
The 31-year-old, unfortunately plagued by injuries for much of the summer, was remarkably the highest runscorer for the tournament and second only to Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis in the bowlers' aggregate.
Yet he still managed to poll enough votes from matches in the Carribean and middle-east earlier in the campaign to garner 42 votes (20 from players and 22 from media and umpires) to finish well ahead of David Warner (29) and George Bailey (16).
Interestingly, 18 of Warner's votes were won via the media and umpires compared to just 11 from his teammates.
Emerging pace duo Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were tied fourth on 13 votes, while Mike Hussey (12) was the only other player in double figures.
Watson clubbed a remarkable four half-centuries in the voting period, including three in four innings in the T20 World Cup.
His strike rate through the season, in which he totalled 406 runs, was also impressive at 144 per 100 balls faced.
Phil Hughes celebrates a century for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield. Source: Getty Images
Winning move for Hughes
AN off-season move to Adelaide paid off for Phil Hughes when he won his first domestic player of the year award at the Allan Border Medal tonight.
The resurgent left-hander, who has worked feverishly at his technique since moving from Sydney last year, garnered 33.8 per cent of the player votes to edge out Tasmanian paceman Jackson Bird (29.1 per cent) and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting (17.6 per cent).
Hughes, 24, has made a splash since his much-publicised move west, earning his way back into the Australian Test team as the leading runscorer in the Sheffield Shield, as well as ranking second on the Ryobi Cup list.
His 1108 combined domestic runs for the voting period have come at striking average of 55.4 and include eight centuries, capped by the sublime 158 against Victoria at the MCG that ultimately won back his baggy green cap after twice being omitted since his Test debut in 2009.
His domestic form translated into two half-centuries against Sri Lanka in the Test arena, followed by two centuries after getting the nod for his ODI debut. His two tons in his first five ODIs is the best return for an Australian batsman.
Hughes, who won the Bradman young cricketer of the year award in 2009, now boasts a remarkable 21 centuries at first-class level.
Queensland batsman Joe Burns has been named the Sir Donald Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year. Picture: David Kapernick Source: The Courier-Mail
Burns takes out Bradman award
EMERGING Queensland batsman Joe Burns has won the Sir Donald Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award.
Burns, 23, was a comfortable winner of the vote among his peers, polling 41.9 per cent for his domestic exploits and performances for Australia A in England last winter, beating South Australian Kane Richardson (14.2 per cent) and New South Welshman Patrick Cummins (10.8 per cent).
The dashing Bulls and Brisbane Heat right-hander made a century on his Sheffield Shield debut in 2010-11, then led Queensland's aggregates the following season to underline his potential.
He was a key member of the Bulls' Shield-winning team last summer and again showed his big-game flair with the Heat's top score of 43 off 27 balls in their Big Bash League grand final triumph.
Burns scored 1038 runs across all three formats in the voting period at an average 35.9, including four centuries and two fifties.
The Bradman award was open to any player aged 24 or under who had not played more than 10 first-class matches before this voting period.
Jess Cameron in action for Australia at the ICC Women's Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. Source: AP
Cameron caps stellar season
MELBOURNE'S Jess Cameron has capped a stellar season, winning the Belinda Clark Award as Australia's best women's player.
Cameron, player of the match in the Women's World Twenty20 final in October, polled 41 votes to edge out fellow Victorian Meg Lanning (36) and New South Wales all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar (26).
All three were key contributors in the Southern Stars' WT20 title defence in Sri Lanka, beating hot favourite England in the final in Colombo.
The hard-hitting 23-year-old, who made her international debut in 2009 aged 19, made 525 runs in 15 matches during at an average of 52.50 at an incredible strike rate of 118.51 runs per 100 balls.
It was Cameron's first Belinda Clark Award following retired all-rounder Shelley Nitschke's four consecutive wins from 2009-12.
Lanning's result was also her best in the Belinda Clark Award after making 768 runs at 51.2 through the voting period.
