“Shocked…”: Son of Australia legend gets major recognition after defecting to England

Jake Lehmann wins Australian cricket award [Source: @7Cricket/x]

Jake Lehmann, son of former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann, has been awarded Men’s Domestic Player of the Year by Cricket Australia. Notably, the 33-year-old was bestowed with the prestigious honour barely a month after switching allegiances to England on his British passport.

Jake Lehmann won the Cricket Australia award for his prolific run in the 2024-25 edition of the Sheffield Shield season. In 10 matches for the South Australia team, Lehmann aggregated 750 runs at a prolific average of 44.11, which included a match-winning century in a triumphant final.

Jake Lehmann wins major award after ending South Australia’s title drought

On Tuesday, January 20, Cricket Australia named Jake Lehmann as Men’s Domestic Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season, a distinction that carries added significance considering his father Darren Lehmann won the same honour three times during his own playing career.

Jake Lehmann won the award for plundering 750 runs in 20 innings spanning 10 matches of the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season. The left-hander even struck four successive hundreds at one stage of the tournament, which included a match-winning 102 in the final to help South Australia win its first red-ball title in nearly three decades.

As quoted by Fox Sports after receiving the award, the 33-year-old said, “It was a little bit of a shock. I felt like I’ve been playing some really good cricket in the last 18 months, so to get recognised by people that you’re playing against and your peers is always something special and I’m grateful for the acknowledgment.”

Jake Lehmann also expressed his enthusiasm in joining some of the greats of Australian cricket who have previously won the award.

He added, “It’s a great honour. Over my career, I’ve looked up to these players and aspire to be these players. I’ve tried to copy a few things that those players have done over the years, so to have my name against their names and be acknowledged in that way is just an honour.”

Jake Lehmann gives up Australia dream, joins Hampshire as local player

Roughly a month prior to being named as Australia’s Domestic Player of the Year, Jake Lehmann gave up his Australia dream by signing a two-year contract with the Hampshire cricket club as a local player by using his UK passport.

By committing to England’s domestic tournament as a local player, Lehmann is now ineligible to play international cricket for Australia as per the ICC norms.

While speaking on ESPNCricinfo last month, the 33-year-old stated that he believed the timing of relocating to England was right considering he never got a chance to represent Australia at the highest level.

He said, “I feel like the timing is right. That was always the dream and the goal, but only a small number of people get to (playing for Australia). Unfortunately, I haven’t got to do it, but I’m also grateful to have played first-class cricket for the last 12 years and to give back to Australian cricket in some way.”

As of now, it remains to be seen how Lehmann’s impending stint with Hampshire unfolds, with the experienced left-hander set to begin a new chapter in English domestic cricket as he looks to make an immediate impact in county colours.