Latest news with #AllanBorderMedal
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cameron Green in startling County scenes as Marnus Labuschagne handed Test blow
Cameron Green has made a statement upon his cricket return having scored a century in the second division of County cricket as Marnus Labuschagne's position in the Test team comes under more pressure. Green missed the 3-1 India series victory after going down injured with a troublesome back problem ahead of the summer. The allrounder has struggled with his back throughout his career and underwent surgery on his lower spine. Green was expected to miss six months of action, before recovering to prepare for the Ashes this November. The 25-year-old did make a a public appearance at the Allan Border Medal, but was unable to find fitness for the end of the Sheffield Shield season. Although time away from the pitch has not impacted his form with Green returning to County cricket for Gloucestershire in the second division and recorded 100 not out, before retiring injured due to cramps. While it appears the retirement was due to a lack of match fitness, as Green struggled to run between the wickets, the allrounder was thrilled to be finding his feet again on the pitch after months away from the game. "One hundred per cent I'm proud," he said after the century, which saw him become the 10th player to score a first-class hundred on debut for Gloucestershire. "It's been eight long months on the sidelines so to get back out here was very special and it's always a good way to start your tenure." And Green's century comes with a warning to teammate Labuschagne ahead of the Test Championship Final. The Queenslander has been hanging on to his Test position after struggling for runs across the last two years. While Green hasn't played much cricket, he was among is a number of candidates in line to replace Labuschagne if Aussie selectors decide to axe the struggling No.3. Labuschagne only averaged 25.36 with the bat across the summer after a largely disappointing series against India and then again in Sri Lanka. That came after an equally disappointing previous year for Labuschagne, where he averaged just 27.08 across the summer of 2023/24. And despite returning to the Sheffield Shield to find form, the batter didn't light up the competition. Labuschagne scored 23, 0 and 61 in his three innings as Queensland went down to South Australia in the final. With Green's immediate form back over in English conditions, calls will once again grow for him to come in and replace Labuchagne for the Test Championship Final against South Africa. Pretty extraordinary for Cameron Green. Score a hundred on county debut for @Gloscricket whilst seemingly cramping up, get there with a sprinted single and have to retire hurt.#bbccricket — Ed Seabourne (@edcricket6) April 18, 2025 Despite his return, Labucschagne appears set to retain his position with it unlikely selectors will unsettle the order in the one-off test match. Regardless, Labuschagne will be keeping a close eye on Green's results with the 25-year-old already making it hard to leave him out of the team. The Australian came to the crease for the first time in eight months with his team reeling at reeling at 3-41 against Kent. Fellow Aussie Cameron Bancroft had already been dismissed for two runs. But Green came to the crease and looked confident from the outset as he made a statement only months out from test selection. Green's arrival at Gloucestershire came about in mysterious circumstances. He signed a five-match deal to play thanks to a "significant donation" from one of the English club's members. Cricket Australia (CA) may not want Green to play in five-straight county games before the WTC final though, considering he hadn't played a competitive match in eight months before his century. Retiring due to cramp could also see CA call for the allrounder to take it easy if they want to select him. If Green were to force his way back into Australia's Test XI, it would likely be at No.3 for Labuschagne or at No.6 for all-rounder Beau Webster. The latter would be very harsh on Webster after his impressive Test debut in the series-clinching fifth match against India at the SCG. The towering all-rounder didn't get much of an opportunity to impress in Sri Lanka but his quality in the field is also another massive notch on his belt.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Australia on top as Sri Lanka collapse in second Test
Soon-to-be milestone man Nathan Lyon and the hot hand of Travis Head have put Australia back on top at tea on the first day in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Pushing to avoid a series whitewash, Sri Lanka undid their good work from the first session as they lost 4-34 on a pitch tipped to only become trickier for the batters. There's plenty of turn in the wicket already, with Dinesh Chandimal (70no) the batting order's shining light for a second-straight Test. Sri Lanka went to tea at 5-144 after eating their lunch on 1-87. Only one wicket away from 550 Test scalps, Lyon (3-42) needed only 10 minutes to swing momentum in Australia's favour after lunch. He bowled around the wicket and snuck past the bat of retiring opener Dimuth Karunaratne (36) to break a 70-run stand with Chandimal. Fellow veteran Angelo Mathews (1 off 26 balls) never looked comfortable replacing Karunaratne and walked immediately after edging Lyon to Alex Carey. Within an hour of lunch, Lyon could have become the seventh man to reach 550 Test wickets but Kamindu Mendis successfully reviewed what the umpire thought was an edge. But Sri Lanka's best batter of 2024 Kamindu Mendis was no match for Head's part-time off-spin. Only two days ago, Head (1-18) could not bring himself to remove his sunglasses to front the press the morning after celebrating his Allan Border Medal win. But he was back in peak condition during the second session, at the same ground where he took career-best figures on Australia's 2022 tour. After Kamindu (13) edged him to Steve Smith in the slips, Head whipped his right wrist around to signify his "hot hand". Australia's sole front-line quick Mitchell Starc (1-18) found plenty of reverse swing in an imperious second session and continued a miserable series for Sri Lanka's captain. With the toe of his bat, Dhananjaya De Silva whipped Starc straight to Beau Webster at gully on the first ball he faced, leaving Sri Lanka in all sorts at 5-127. Earlier, Connolly earned a Test debut in only his fifth first-class match, becoming Australia's least experienced debutant since 2011, when Pat Cummins played a Test in his fourth. Former Test player Simon Katich presented Connolly with his baggy green as front-line spinner Todd Murphy dropped out of the XI after having a middling series opener. Cooper Connolly into the attack for the first time in Test cricket! #SLvAUS — 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 6, 2025 Before his first over with the ball, Connolly had a brief chat with Lyon, who memorably took Kumar Sangakarra's wicket with his first delivery as a Test cricketer at the same ground in 2011. Left-arm off-spinner Connolly (0-3) looked comfortable in his first two overs as a Test cricketer just before lunch, sending down a maiden in his second.
Express Tribune
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Travis Head crowned Australia's MVP
MELBOURNE: Four years after being dumped from the Australian team during a bleak period with the bat, Travis Head has risen to the top of the heap as a devastating power hitter in all three formats. The popular lefthander was awarded the Allan Border Medal late on Monday as Australia's top men's cricketer in 2024, crushing second-placed paceman Josh Hazlewood in the voting. The 31-year-old scored 1,427 runs across the three formats in the 12-month polling period starting with the drawn Test series against West Indies last January and ending with the recent 3-1 home series win over India. Unable to attend the Australian Cricket Awards in Melbourne while on the Test squad's tour of Sri Lanka, the no-frills South Australian accepted the medal from coach Andrew McDonald wearing a team polo shirt and shorts. The low-key ceremony was fitting for a player who often seems a throwback to the 20th century when great Australian players wore moustaches and guzzled post-match beers. Head has come to make the game look easy wherever thrown in the batting order, mixing middle order centuries in back-to-back Tests against India with fast runs as a white-ball opener. His stocks as a part-time offspinner have also risen; he contributed a couple of key wickets during the India series. A few years ago, though, Head's career was at a cross-roads when he was dropped during the 2020-21 home summer and went to English county team Sussex looking for runs. "I had a pretty rough trot at it, went to Sussex, didn't get that consistency that I was after, tried to play a certain way, didn't work," he told Australian media in Sri Lanka. Head averaged 18.30 with the bat during his Sussex stint and returned home thinking he had to "pull (his) finger out" to get back into the Test team in time for the Ashes. He said he made a conscious choice to go all-out as an attacking batter in Tests, having had mixed results when quashing his natural instincts. The approach worked as he earned a recall for the 2021-22 Ashes and smashed a match-winning 152 off 148 balls in the series-opener at the Gabba. It set the tone for Australia's rollicking 4-0 win over England, with Head finishing top of the runs-list with 357 from six innings. Now an automatic selection for Australia in all formats and a team leader, Head is spoken of as a possible future captain. Pat Cummins leads the Test and ODI teams, while all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is the T20 captain. Head, who was also named Australia's best player in ODIs at Monday's awards night, said he was happy to "step in" as captain when called upon but was not eyeing the role permanently. "I probably don't see it as a long-term thing," he added. "Me and Pat (Cummins) are the same age, Pat's doing a wonderful job."
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Head addresses 'disrespectful' awards night detail in admission about Cummins
Travis Head admits he thought Aussie captain Pat Cummins was a shoo-in to win the Allan Border Medal after discussing the bizarre nature of the awards night that was held while the Test team was away in Sri Lanka. Head and his Test teammates were 8000km away in Sri Lanka when he claimed the top individual men's prize at Australian cricket's night of nights. It marked a sad first in the 25-year history of the Allan Border Medal that the winner didn't accept the award from the great man in person. And many fans described the situation as "disrespectful" to Border and questioned why Cricket Australia and Channel 7 couldn't come up with a better solution. The truth is that the recent women's Ashes series - which Australia won in a historic clean sweep - and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan meant the annual awards had to be held without the men's Test team present. And Head revealed during an interview in Sri Lanka ahead of the second Test, that he was still in the dark about whether or not he'd won the award during a pre-recorded interview that was played on the night. The Aussie batter - who was a deserved winner after starring in all three formats for Australia - joked that he was glad he didn't have to get up and deliver a speech in front of everyone at the awards night. But the 31-year-old admitted that he thought his skipper Cummins was going to pip him to the Allan Border Medal after a similarly exceptional year for Australia in multiple formats. The fresh Allan Border Medalist, Travis Head, chats with @beastieboy07 after claiming the medal for the first time on Monday night 🥇➡️ Listen to every ball from Sri Lanka on the 𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗽𝗽!#SLvAUS 🏏 — SEN Cricket (@SEN_Cricket) February 4, 2025 "It's nice being away and there was no expectation of a speech or anything," Head told SEN Cricket from Sri Lanka. "Obviously I did a little piece with Ron (Australia coach Andrew McDonald) which was quite humorous because we still thought it was a 'what if' a couple of days ago. And I still didn't quite think I'd got the job done (won the Allan Border Medal). "I thought Pat was going to be a deserved winner so when I did the media a couple of days ago I still thought it was a 'what if' so that's why it was a bit awkward, a bit funny because we didn't quite know. But once I found out that it was real, it was quite surreal and nice to be able to celebrate accordingly... The energy and excitement from my teammates and (wife) Jess was quite cool." Head says he's still pinching himself after becoming the first South Australian to claim Aussie cricket's top award, and join a list of legendary players to have represented the national side. "It's hard to believe, we've had so many great players so it's hard to believe I'm the first (winner from South Australia) but I'm very proud and I'm sure everyone at home is as well." "Seeing the list come out of the previous winners and it's a pretty cool list, there's ridiculous players on it. To think that I'm on that list now is quite amazing." Head says while he took some time to celebrate the momentous achievement with his teammates and wife, his attention has now fully turned to the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, starting on Thursday. Australian officials have decided to send young gun Sam Konstas home to play in the Sheffield Shield after deciding he would not be picked for the second Test and would benefit more from playing red-ball cricket for NSW. Konstas says he fully understands the decision and admits he's learnt a lot from the tour about playing in Asia and under vastly different conditions than he would in Australia. Head says the touring experience would have been vital for Konstas and suggested the 19-year-old would regain his spot at opener for Australia in June's World Test Championship final against South Africa, with Head set to return to his usual position at No.5. "Sam's a big part of where we're going, there's no doubt about it," Head said. "Disappointed that he missed out on the first Test but great for him to be here, great for him to be experiencing conditions... Most likely I'll go back in the middle order and Sam will open."
