Cummins takes first AB Medal
PAT Cummins is assured of being the highest paid player in Australian cricket when new contracts are handed out in April after securing his first Allan Border Medal.
The resurgent speedster, who only returned to the Test team in 2017 after nearly six years battling injuries, beat out spinner Nathan Lyon by six votes and Aaron Finch by 10.
It was Finch’s run of white-ball form, which included blasting a world record T20 score of 172 against Zimbabwe in July, which helped him earn Test selection, and 146 votes in the count.
Geelong’s Finch scored over 500 more runs than any Australian player during the voting period, posting 1302, with more than 1000 in ODIs and T20s, including three hundreds.
Cummins won the award despite missing out on the Test player of the year gong, which went to Lyon.
The 25-year-old fast bowler earned more votes than Lyon from his teammates (81 to 72) in the eight Tests and six one-day internationals in which he played, while the spinner got more votes form the media and umpires (78-75).
Wicketkeeper/batter Alyssa Healy dominated the women’s awards with her stunning efforts during the past 12 months securing her all three major gongs.
Healy secured her first Belinda Clark Award as Australia’s best female cricketer, breaking the five-year domination of the award, by Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry. Named the International Cricket Council’s T20 player of the year in December, Healy dominated voting herself.