Travis Head with Man of the Match medal during IND vs AUS (L) & Mitchell Starc (Source: AFP Photos)
In a dramatic scenario, Travis Head won the Allan Border Medal – the most prestigious award in Australian men's cricket – by just one vote, Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Friday. Head defeated Alex Carey to make headlines in the Australian Cricket Awards.
Not only Carey, but Travis Head also had a neck-to-neck fight with Mitchell Starc for the Allan Border Medal. Eventually, he finished with 153 votes, while Carey and Starc ended on 152 and 150 votes, respectively.
Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh were other primary candidates for the Allan Border Medal. They had 96 and 86 votes respectively, finishing with 4th and 5th positions on the chart.
Travis Head Joins Ricky Ponting With Allan Border Medal Double
Notably, it was Head’s second Allan Border Medal in two years, winning the elusive award in successive years. Before him, there were only four Australian men who had achieved the same feat, and one of them was Ricky Ponting.
Back-To-Back Allan Border Medal Winners
- Travis Head: 2025, 2026
- David Warner: 2016, 2017
- Michael Clarke: 2012, 2013
- Shane Watson: 2010, 2011
- Ricky Ponting: 2006, 2007
Starc Wins Shane Warne Men's Test Player Of The Year
Even though Starc missed out on winning the Allan Border Medal by a whisker, he won the Shane Warne Men's Test Player Of the Year. There, Travis Head had a four fewer votes than him, followed by Carey, Smith and Michael Neser.
More significantly, it was Starc’s second Shane Warne Men's Test player of the year award, and his first after nine years. No other Australian had this much gap in winning the same individual award.
Shane Warne Men's Test Player Of The Year Voting
- Mitchell Starc- 25 votes
- Travis Head 21- votes
- Alex Carey 20- votes
- Steve Smith- 13 votes
- Michael Neser- 10 votes
David, Marsh Among Other Winners Of Australian Cricket Awards
In other awards, Tim David won the T20I player of the year, while Mitchell Marsh won the best Australian men in ODIs. It was David’s first individual reward in Australian Cricket Awards.
Marsh, on the other hand, has now won the ODI player of the year award twice in three years.
T20I Player Of The Year Voting
- Tim David- 23 votes
- Mitch Marsh- 19 votes
- Nathan Ellis- 17 votes
- Ben Dwarshuis- 16 votes
- Josh Hazlewood- 16 votes
ODI Player Of The Year Voting
- Mitchell Marsh- 16 votes
- Josh Inglis 12- votes
- Nathan Ellis- 11 votes
- Alex Carey- 10 votes
- Travis Head- 9 votes
“Travis had a fantastic season with some memorable knocks that left lifelong memories for the fans lucky to watch him,” Cricket Australia’s head of cricket James Allsopp said in a statement.
“Mitch Starc has moved in the realm of the world’s great fast bowlers while Mitch Marsh and Tim David starred in the white ball formats.
“The Australian Men’s Team had a big 2025-26 summer which featured retaining the Ashes in front of record-breaking audiences. They have a huge year of cricket to come starting with the two-Test series against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay,” he added.
Australian Cricket Awards For Women Announced Earlier
Earlier this year Annabel Sutherland claimed her second consecutive Belinda Clark Award, along with the ODI Player of the Year award, while Beth Mooney was named T20I Player of the Year prior to a series against India.
Earlier in February, Annabel Sutherland won the Belinda Clark Award, a reward given to the best Women’s cricket player in Australia. It was her second consecutive individual award. Adding to that, she won the ODI Player of the Year award.
On the other hand, CA gave Beth Mooney the T20I Player of the Year award.
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