Steve Smith has won his third Allan Border Medal at the 2021 Australian Cricket Awards, beating Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch for the gong. In the voting period from January 9, 2020, to January 19 2021, Smith scored the most international runs of any Australian player across all three formats. He scored 1098 runs at an average of 45.75 including four centuries. The two centuries that stand out most in the mind are arguable his back-to-back blistering innings against India at the SCG in the ODI matches towards the end of 2020. It is the third time that Smith has won the award, having claimed the gong in both 2015 and 2018.
Many tipped Australian Test vice-captain Pat Cummins to win his second Allan Border Medal after a standout year with the ball. He took 41 wickets across the voting period in international cricket at an average of 27.60, the most wickets of any Australian bowler. Cummins, who took 21 wickets at 20.04 in the Border-Gavaskar series – the only four Tests played in the voting period – was voted Test player of the year. Ashton Agar was crowned Australia’s Men’s T20I player of the year. Shaun Marsh and Elyse Villani were named Australia’s domestic players of the year, and Will Sutherland and Hannah Darlington were announced as the Don Bradman and Belly Wilson young cricketers of the year. This summer also saw all three of Johnny Mullagh, Merv Hughes and Lisa Sthalekar inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
2021 Australian Cricket Awards Winners
Allan Border Medal – Steve Smith
Belinda Clark Award – Beth Mooney
Men’s Test Player of the Year – Pat Cummins
Men’s ODI Player of the Year – Steve Smith
Men’s T20I Player of the Year – Ashton Agar
Women’s ODI Player of the Year – Rachael Haynes
Women's T20I Player of the Year - Beth Mooney
Community Impact Award – Josh Lalor
Men’s Domestic Player of the Year – Shaun Marsh
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year – Will Sutherland
Women’s Domestic Player of the Year – Elyse Villani
Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year – Hannah Darlington
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame – Johnny Mullagh, Merv Hughes and Lisa Sthalekar
