2025 Australian Cricket Awards: The Unsettling Shadow of the Allan Border Medal Hangs Over a Celebrated Evening

The most glamorous night in Australian cricket appears set to unfold without a constellation of stars in attendance.

This year’s Australian Cricket Awards, akin to the Brownlow Medal night or the Dally M Awards, are scheduled to take place at Crown Melbourne on Monday evening.

However, the prestigious event, which honours the Allan Border Medal and the Belinda Clark Award, will proceed without the men’s team, currently in Sri Lanka engaging in Test matches.

Among the nominees for the Allan Border Medal are Travis Head, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Starc, all of whom are in Galle preparing for the second Test of the series.

Pat Cummins, opting to remain in Australia for the birth of his second child, did not make the trip to Sri Lanka. Sources have indicated that the Test and ODI captain, also a potential Allan Border Medal recipient, will be absent from the awards night.

Traditionally, Australia does not undertake an overseas Test tour until February or later, but the current Sri Lanka tour was scheduled for earlier dates to accommodate the 50-over Champions Trophy, which is set to occur in Pakistan and the UAE from February 19 to March 9.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed in December that Cricket Australia had engaged with the Australian Cricketers Association and the event’s broadcasters regarding the scheduling conflict between the awards night and the Sri Lanka tour. A decision was ultimately made to host the ceremony after the conclusion of the women’s Ashes Test at the MCG, which concluded on Saturday.

This scheduling conflict highlights the ever-growing demand on the cricket calendar, which is jam-packed with international competitions across all formats, domestic T10 and T20 leagues, and innovative tournaments like The Hundred in the UK.

With the extraordinary amount of cricket scheduled, opportunities for events such as the Australian Cricket Awards to be optimally arranged are severely limited, sometimes leaving none whatsoever.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2025 Australian Cricket Awards:

When are the Australian Cricket Awards taking place?

The premier night for Australian cricket will commence at 7pm (AEDT) on Monday, February 3, concluding around 8.30pm.

Where will the awards be hosted?

The ceremony, a sophisticated black-tie affair, will occur in the Palladium room at Crown Melbourne.

How is the Allan Border Medal awarded?

This premier honour in Australian men’s cricket is determined by performances across Test, ODI, and T20I formats.

The most recent voting window for the Allan Border Medal commenced with the home Test series against the West Indies in January 2024 and concluded with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that finished last month.

Votes are cast by players, umpires, and media representatives after each match, distributed on a 3-2-1 basis, where Test votes are weighted double compared to ODIs and triple for T20Is.

Who are the nominees for the Allan Border Medal?

Travis Head is a frontrunner for his first Allan Border Medal, having amassed 1427 runs across all formats within the voting timeframe.

He significantly outperformed the next highest scorer, Steve Smith, who notched up 806 runs.

The left-handed dynamo had an average of 42.24 during the eligibility window, which is especially notable given that over half of his 29 matches were T20Is.

His standout innings included four centuries: 119 against the West Indies in Adelaide, an unbeaten 154 in an ODI against England at Trent Bridge, and two hundreds against India in Adelaide and Brisbane.

Other contenders for the Allan Border Medal include Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.

Smith has the chance to win for a record-breaking fifth time.

A dark horse in the running is limited-overs leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who appeared in the most matches during the voting period, leading with a total of 31.

Who are the previous recipients of the Allan Border Medal?

The list includes Glenn McGrath (2000), Steve Waugh (2001), Matthew Hayden (2002), Adam Gilchrist (2003), Ricky Ponting (2004, 2006, 2007, joint winner 2009), Michael Clarke (2005, joint winner 2009, 2012, 2013), Brett Lee (2008), Shane Watson (2010, 2011), Mitchell Johnson (2014), Steve Smith (2015, 2018, 2021, 2023), David Warner (2016, 2017, 2020), Pat Cummins (2019), Mitchell Starc (2022), and Mitchell Marsh (2024).

How is the Belinda Clark Award determined?

The top individual accolade for Australian women’s cricket follows the same voting system as the Allan Border Medal.

Performances across Test, ODI, and T20I formats are taken into account, with players, umpires, and media voting post-match on a 3-2-1 basis, where Tests hold double the value of ODIs and triple that of T20Is.

The latest voting period for the Belinda Clark Award spanned from January 10, 2024, to February 2, 2025.

Who are the leading contenders for the Belinda Clark Award?

The top candidates include Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, and Beth Mooney, while Georgia Wareham is seen as an outside possibility.

Sutherland concluded the voting period in stunning style, scoring 163 against England, marking her as the first woman to achieve a Test century at the MCG.

What awards will be presented this year?

The awards on offer include:

• Allan Border Medal
• Belinda Clark Award
• Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year
• Men’s One-Day International Player of the Year
• Women’s T20I Player of the Year
• Men’s T20I Player of the Year
• Women’s One-Day International Player of the Year
• BBL Player of the Tournament
• Men’s Domestic Cricketer of the Year
• Women’s Domestic Cricketer of the Year
• Bradman Male Young Cricketer of the Year
• Betty Wilson Female Young Cricketer of the Year