Brisbane: Australia’s dynamic left-handed opener Travis Head has won the prestigious Allan Border Medal for a second consecutive year following an outstanding 2025/26 international season.
At a Cricket Australia awards function held on Friday, Head took the top honour after scoring 1,437 runs across 30 matches in all three formats. His dominant season featured a match-winning 123 off 83 balls in the Ashes series opener in Perth and a high score of 170 in the Adelaide Test.
Head edged out South Australian teammate and wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey by a single vote – polling 153 votes to the latter’s 152. Carey compiled 1,079 runs in 24 matches and registered 28 dismissals during Australia’s successful Ashes defence.
Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc finished third in the medal tally with 150 votes and claimed the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year award. Starc, who was named Player of the Series in the Ashes triumph, bagged 57 wickets at an average of 24 in 11 Tests, including career-best figures of 7-58.
In the white-ball categories, T20I captain Mitchell Marsh won the Men’s ODI Player of the Year after scoring 304 runs in six matches. Power-hitter Tim David claimed the Men’s T20I Player of the Year award, highlighted by his 37-ball unbeaten 102 against the West Indies — the fastest T20I century by an Australian male batter.
“Congratulations to all of tonight’s award winners, including back-to-back Allan Border Medallist Travis Head. Travis had a fantastic season with some memorable knocks that left lifelong memories for the fans lucky to watch him. Mitch Starc has moved into 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,” said James Allsopp, Cricket Australia Chief of Cricket.
Head joins an elite group of players as the sixth cricketer to win the Allan Border Medal multiple times, alongside Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, and David Warner.
Commending the achievements, Brendan Drew, Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) General Manager Member Services & Cricket Operations, said, “Congratulations to the winners of tonight’s awards, and to all involved in Australian Men’s Teams across the three formats over the last year.
“To Travis Head, who becomes only the 6th multiple-time winner of the Allan Border Medal – what a sensational player he’s become for Australia across all formats, a thoroughly deserving back-to-back winner of the award.
“Mitch Starc has aged like a fine wine and continues to act as a key cog in the Test bowling lineup — congratulations to him on becoming only the 5th player to be named Australia’s Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year multiple times.
“Congratulations to Mitch Marsh and Tim David who were duly rewarded for their stand-out years — both being reliable with the bat time and time again in ODIs and T20Is. As we wrap up last year, we look forward with excitement to a packed schedule of cricket for our Australian Men’s teams both home and away over the next 12 months,” he said.
Earlier this year, seam-bowling all-rounder Annabel Sutherland claimed her second consecutive Belinda Clark Award. She was also named ODI Player of the Year while left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Beth Mooney was named T20I Player of the Year.
(IANS)
