Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Head wins consecutive Allan Border Medal; Starc named Test Player
Cricket is a sport Australians love very much, and every year they give out big awards to their best players.
This year, a batter named Travis Head won the most important award, called the Allan Border Medal.
He won it two years in a row, which is very special and only a few players have ever done.
Travis scored 1,437 runs in 30 games over the season.
He almost didn't win, because his teammate Alex Carey was just one vote behind.
A fast bowler named Mitchell Starc won the award for the best Test player after taking 57 wickets.
Two other players, Mitchell Marsh and Tim David, won awards for the best one-day and T20 players.
Tim David hit the fastest T20 century ever by an Australian man.
The Australian team kept the Ashes trophy during the summer and will next play against Bangladesh.
Women players Annabel Sutherland and Beth Mooney also won big awards.
Travis Head won the Allan Border Medal for the second consecutive year, polling 153 votes to Alex Carey's 152.
Head scored 1,437 runs in 30 matches across all three formats, including 163 at the SCG and 170 in Adelaide during the Ashes.
Mitchell Starc finished third in the tally with 150 votes and won the Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year award with 57 wickets in 11 Tests.
Mitchell Marsh was named Men's ODI Player of the Year for 304 runs in six matches, while Tim David won the Men's T20I Player of the Year award.
Most articles reported Head as the fifth player to win consecutive medals, though one article said he joined Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon as multiple winners and another listed him as the sixth multi-time winner.
- Who
- Travis Head, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh and Tim David, plus women's award winners Annabel Sutherland and Beth Mooney.
- What
- Cricket Australia's men's awards night, headlined by Head winning the Allan Border Medal for the second straight year.
- When
- Friday, at the end of the 2025/26 international season; the medal's voting period ran from January 29, 2025 to January 8, 2026.
- Where
- Brisbane, Australia.
- Why
- Head posted 1,437 runs across all three formats, edging teammate Alex Carey by a single vote.
- Top Honour
- Allan Border Medal — Travis Head (1,437 runs in 30 matches)
- Runner-up
- Alex Carey — 1,079 runs in 24 matches (153 to 152 votes)
- Test Player of the Year
- Mitchell Starc — 57 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 24
- ODI Player of the Year
- Mitchell Marsh — 304 runs in six matches
- T20I Player of the Year
- Tim David — unbeaten 102 off 37 balls against the West Indies
- Venue
- Cricket Australia awards function, Brisbane
- Next Series
- Two-Test series against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay
- Women's Awards
- Annabel Sutherland (Belinda Clark Award, ODI Player of the Year); Beth Mooney (T20I Player of the Year)
