Melbourne, Feb 12 (IANS) Skipper Steve Smith was on Monday crowned the 2018 Allan Border medallist for the second time, besides grabbing Cricket Australia’s Test Player of the Year award for his sensational run in the five-day format, including guiding the Kangaroos to regain the Ashes urn.

Smith emerged the clear winner of the Allan Border medal — Australia’s foremost individual cricket honour, that he previously secured in 2015 having finished well clear of his vice-captain David Warner and off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

In the voting window that spanned the period after the final Test of the 2016-17 summer to the end of the fifth Ashes Test against England last month, Smith polled a total of 246 aggregated votes split evenly between his Australia teammates (123) and umpires and media representatives (123).

The 28-year-old, whose return of 1,754 runs at an average of 67.46 across all international formats during that 12-month period was the most among all Australia players.

He was also named the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year last month.

The right-hander now joins Warner and former all-rounder Shane Watson as dual winners of the Border medal, with only his fellow former captains Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke ahead of him in the annals of the individual prize with four wins apiece.

Warner, meanwhile, has been crowned Australia’s best One-day International (ODI) player for the second successive year while Aaron Finch edged out spinner Adam Zampa and all-rounder Moises Henriques to be named Australia’s T20I Player of the Year for the second time.

Among the eves, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry was crowned the Belinda Clark award for a second time, officially confirming her as Australia’s best cricketer from the past 12 months.

Having previously won the award in 2016, the 27-year-old Perry, who recently struck an unbeaten 213 in the historic day-night Ashes Test in Sydney, capped off a 12-month period that also saw her named the ICC’s women’s Cricketer of the Year.

–IANS
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