Photo Credit: Adelaide Strikers
Adelaide Strikers’ all-rounder Matthew Short has been named the KFC BBL|12 Player of the Tournament at tonight’s Australian Cricket Awards.
Short capped a career-best season by taking out the award, as voted by both on-field umpires in all 56 KFC BBL|12 regular season games.
He polled 25 votes throughout the campaign, three clear of Perth Scorchers’ wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis (22 votes) and a further two ahead of Melbourne Renegades’ batter Aaron Finch (20 votes).
Short was a standout at the top of the Strikers’ order, scoring 458 runs at 35.23 apiece to take also out the BKT Golden Bat as the League’s highest run-scorer.
That tally included Short’s first ever BBL century, an even 100 not out in the Strikers’ League-record chase of 3-230 against the Hobart Hurricanes at Adelaide Oval on January 5.
His all-round prowess made him an invaluable member of the Adelaide side, opening the bowling with his off spin and claiming 11 wickets with best figures of 3-14.
The BBL’s other individual honour, the BKT Golden Arm, was taken out by Sean Abbott. The first and only bowler to reach 150 wickets in BBL history, Abbott once again topped the season chart with 25 wickets at 14.76. He finished one wicket ahead of Andrew Tye (24 wickets), who remarkably also sits second to Abbott on the all-time leaderboard.
Also re-presented at the Australian Cricket Awards was the Weber WBBL|08 Player of the Tournament trophy to Sydney Sixers all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner.
First announced during the Weber WBBL|08 Finals series, the award recognised Gardner’s outstanding season which saw her claim a career-best 23 wickets to share the WBBL’s BKT Golden Arm award with Megan Schutt. She also scored 339 runs at an average of 30.81, the fifth most in the competition.
Tonight’s ceremony was the first time the KFC BBL Player of the Tournament and Weber WBBL Player of the Tournament honours were presented at the Australian Cricket Awards.
BKT Golden Bat and BKT Golden Arm Awards will be presented at The Challenger on Thursday evening at the SCG.
Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s General Manager, Big Bash Leagues, said:
“Matt Short was at the centre of some of the most memorable moments in KFC BBL history this summer and a worthy recipient of Player of the Tournament honours.
“Whether it be his unbelievable catch to set off a chain reaction in that remarkable early season game against the Thunder, or his unbeaten century in the Strikers’ record run chase, Short played a crucial role in some unforgettable games.
“We commend him on taking out that award, as well as the BKT Golden Bat for the League’s highest run-scorer. That extends to Sean Abbott, who built further on his BBL legacy this season with the BKT Golden Arm as the competition’s highest wicket taker.
“Finally, we once again extend our congratulations to Ash Gardner, who was the standout player in the Weber WBBL|08 season and richly deserved the Player of the Tournament award. We wish her and the entire Australian team well at the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.”
KFC BBL|12 Player of the Tournament votes
| Position | Player | Club | Votes |
| 1 | Matthew Short | Adelaide Strikers | 25 |
| 2 | Josh Inglis | Perth Scorchers | 22 |
| 3 | Aaron Finch | Melbourne Renegades | 20 |
| 4 | Michael Neser | Brisbane Heat | 19 |
| =5 | Cameron Bancroft | Perth Scorchers | 18 |
| =5 | Steven Smith | Sydney Sixers | 18 |
| =7 | Sean Abbott | Sydney Sixers | 16 |
| =7 | Aaron Hardie | Perth Scorchers | 16 |
| =7 | Chris Lynn | Adelaide Strikers | 16 |
| =10 | Sam Harper | Melbourne Renegades | 14 |
| =10 | Ashton Turner | Perth Scorchers | 14 |
KFC BBL|12 Finals Schedule
Thursday, February 2: ‘The Challenger’ – Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat, Sydney Cricket Ground, 7:15pm AEDT
Saturday, February 4: ‘The Final’ – Perth Scorchers v winner of The Challenger, Optus Stadium, 4:30pm AWST/7:30pm AEDT.
A reserve day is also available for The Final only, on Sunday, February 5 with a 4:15pm AWST/7:15pm AEDT start time.
All KFC BBL|12 Finals matches will be broadcast live on Seven, Foxtel, Kayo and SEN.
An initial allocation of tickets to The Final have been sold out. Information will be available shortly about further availability. Tickets to The Challenger remain available at cricket.com.au/big-bash/
