Photo Credit: Perth Scorchers
Perth Scorchers boom recruit Beth Mooney has been named the best female cricketer in the country, awarded the Belinda Clark Award during the televised ceremony of the 2021 Australia Cricket Awards following an impressive 12-month campaign.Joining Mooney is Scorchers allrounder Ashton Agar who has taken out the Men’s T20 International Player of the Year award.
Mooney is the just the ninth winner of the Belinda Clark Award, becoming the first player outside prolific Australian teammates Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy to claim the award since 2013.
Mooney scored more runs than any of her teammates across three ODIs and 14 T20Is during the voting period, compiling 555 runs at an average of 42.9, including six half centuries.
Mooney started the voting period with a dominant Player of the Series performance in the T20 International tri-series, the golden moment was her unbeaten 71 off 54 to allow the Australians to finish victors in the final against India.
The opener further enhanced her big-game credentials being crowned Player of the Tournament in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. She set a new high-water mark for most runs scored by a single player in the tournament, breaking her captain Meg Lanning’s previous record from 2014 with her 259 runs at 64.75 across six innings.
With the ICC T20 World Cup the centrepiece of the year for the Australian women’s team, 14 T20Is were played during the voting period, resulting in Mooney comfortably taking out the Women’s T20 Player of the Year.
Mooney enjoyed a stellar 2020 Women’s Big Bash League tournament with the bat and finished the competition as leading run-scorer with 551 at an average of 55.10.
The wicketkeeper became the first player in WBBL history to notch up 3,000 runs.
The run machine formed a formidable opening combination with Scorchers skipper Sophie Devine, with three hundred-run partnerships coming at the top of the order.
Ashton Agar was sensational on last February’s tour of South Africa, the left-arm spinner became just the second Australian to take a T20I hat-trick, as well as the second Australian to take a five-for in the format, as the visitors dominated South Africa in a 107-run victory at the Wanderers.
Agar was a strong contributor with the ball against England in September before a calf injury prevented him from playing in the series against India.
The chief destroyer collected 13 wickets at 12.46 and an economy of 6.75 from six matches to be named the men’s T20 player of the year.
The ongoing calf injury ruled the spinner out of the 2020-21 Big Bash League but he’s expected to be fully available for Australia’s five-match T20 tour of New Zealand this month.
All international awards are based on votes from players, umpires and the media on a 3-2-1 basis from each match.
Allan Border Medal
Steve Smith (126 votes)
2nd: Pat Cummins (114 votes)
3rd: Aaron Finch (97 votes)
Belinda Clark Award
Beth Mooney (60 votes)
2nd: Meg Lanning (58 votes)
3rd: Georgia Wareham (50 votes)
Men’s T20 International Player of the Year
Ashton Agar (19 votes)
2nd: Aaron Finch (14 votes)
3rd: David Warner (13 votes)
Women’s T20 International Player of the Year
Beth Mooney (30 votes)
2nd: Alyssa Healy (18 votes)
3rd: Ashleigh Gardner, Megan Schutt and Georgia Wareham (16 votes)
Men’s ODI Player of the Year
Steve Smith (28 votes)
2nd: Aaron Finch (23 votes)
3rd: Adam Zampa (19 votes)
Women’s ODI Player of the Year
Rachael Haynes (11 votes)
2nd: Meg Lanning (10 votes)
3rd: Georgia Wareham (6 votes)
Men’s Test Player of the Year
Pat Cummins (16 votes)
2nd: Josh Hazlewood (9 votes)
3rd: Marnus Labuschagne (8 votes)
