It was the announcement of Abbott as the young cricketer of the year that drew the biggest applause…
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Steve Smith capped off a memorable 12 months by winning his first Allan Border Medal as Australia’s best cricketer of the past year.
The stand-in Test captain held off David Warner and Mitchell Johnson for the accolade, and also picked up both the Test and ODI player of the year awards.
Smith scored an impressive 1,212 runs at an average of 86.47 at Test level and 541 ODI runs at 49.18.
“I thought I would be up there but I certainly didn’t think I’d be collecting the one day, the Test and the AB Medal,” Smith is quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I’ve joined a pretty illustrious group of players that have come before me. I used to sit back as a kid and watch the Allan Border Medal and see some of my childhood stars appearing on the TV receiving these awards. To have received one now, it’s a pretty amazing feeling to be honest.”
But it was the emotional announcement of Sean Abbott as the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year that drew the biggest applause of the night.
The Australian cricketing community rallied around the 22-year-old after his short ball felled Phillip Hughes in a Sheffield Shield game in November last year.
Abbott thanked the community for their support in what was undoubtedly a tough time for the bowler.
“I am thankful for the support of the Australian cricket family and wider community, as well as my own family, close friends and teammates, and especially my girlfriend Brier,” he is quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I feel privileged to receive such an award, especially after a couple of good seasons in a row on the field and some tough off seasons pushing myself to continually improve. I feel that this is a reward for a lot of good work and finally putting some consistent good performances together.”
Glenn Maxwell won best T20 player of the year, while Jason Behrendorff was voted as the best domestic player of the past 12 months.
Meg Lanning won the Belinda Clark Award for being the women’s international cricketer of the year.
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