Australian Cricket Awards 2024 | Allan Border Medal voting criteria; Statistics behind Allan Border Medal; Mitch Marsh acceptance speech video
0
0
Given Travis Head was considered a major contender for the Allan Border Medal on Wednesday night, it was a surprise not to see him even make the top three.
Mitchell Marsh swamped the field to win the top gong, with Aussie men’s captain Pat Cummins finishing second and Steve Smith third in the votes tally.
And while Marsh’s numbers stacked up well against other players, it can be argued Head was stiff not to at least beat Smith into third place.
READ MORE: Marsh’s amazing speech after icing epic resurgence
READ MORE: ‘Devastated’ icon reacts to brutal Formula 1 snub
READ MORE: Top PGA Tour players land $2.3b equity deal
Statistics tell one story, but ultimately the criteria comes down to the judgement of individuals.
Votes are cast by teammates, match referees or umpires and members of the media on a 3-2-1 system following every Test, ODI and T20 match. Test matches are worth twice as much as ODIs and three times that of T20I games.
Marsh finished Wednesday’s count with a whopping 223 votes, while Cummins had 144 and Smith was on 141. Mitchell Starc (135) and Head (134) were close behind.
The voting period was from January 22, 2023 to January 9, 2024.
Across 29 matches, Marsh scored 1638 runs at 58.50.
Marnus Labuschagne scored more with 1672 but that came in 35 matches and an average of 40.78.
Smith and Head both played 31 matches. Smith score 1377 runs at 36.24 while Head scored 1638 runs at 42.
On the bowling side, Starc and Cummins both played 24 matches. Starc claimed 66 wickets at 29.79 across three formats, while Cummins had 61 at 29.21.
Australian cricket’s top awards through the years: Superstar shooting for historic first
Marsh’s year in review
So what did the man known as ‘The Bison’ do over 2023 and 2024 to earn such a coveted award, and in such a canter from the other contenders?
In the Test arena, Marsh returned to red ball cricket in the third match of the Ashes.
He peeled off a run-a-ball 118 before hitting 28 the next innings. He took 1-9 and 1-23 across the match.
After that initial comeback, Marsh’s returns with the ball weren’t much to write home about with 1-42 at The Oval and 1-34 against Pakistan in Perth his only wicket-taking matches for the rest of 2023.
He also claimed 1-27 against Pakistan at the SCG, which fell in the voting period.
In terms of runs, his next best innings after the century was a 51 against England at Old Trafford, 90 and 63 not out against Pakistan in Perth and his 96 at the MCG. There was also a 54 at the SCG.
Now onto the short formats.
In ODIs Marsh did some of his best work.
There was an 81, 66 not out and 47 in the India tour in March. His returns against South Africa in September were modest before scoring 96 against India in the lead up to the World Cup.
His key innings in the World Cup were scores of 52, 121 and 177.
Marsh rarely bowled but had best figures of 2-19 against the Netherlands at the World Cup.
The all-rounder was seriously impressive in his three T20Is for 2023, scoring 92 not out, 79 not out and 15 against South Africa.
Was Head hard done by?
He didn’t make the top three but Travis Head was certainly one of Australia’s better performers in the 2023/24 season.
In Tests, Head scored three half-centuries and a 163 at The Oval to deliver Australia the World Test Championship.
The ODIs brought about some famous performances from the left-hander.
In 13 innings he finished with a single digit score only twice. His 109 off 67 balls against New Zealand at the World Cup was outstanding but he really turned it on during the final, smashing 137 against India to win the tournament for his country.
A 91 against South Africa was Head’s biggest score in T20Is, averaging a healthy 34.83 across six matches.
How did Smith get third?
The 34-year-old’s performances in Test cricket definitely parachuted him ahead of other players.
His first big score was the 121 against India in the World Test Championship final. Then there was a famous 110 at Lord’s, likely to be his last Ashes appearance at the ground.
He also scored two half-centuries in the final Ashes Test at The Oval.
There was also a 50 against Pakistan at the MCG.
In the ODIs, Smith finished the year with three half-centuries. His highest score was 74 against India in the lead up to the World Cup followed by a 71 and 63 not out in the tournament.
The four-time Allan Border medallist only played two T20s, scoring 52 and 19 against India.
