Shane Watson honoured with second Allan Border Award
Shane Watson has done it again! The star all-rounder won the Allan Border medal in a private ceremony held on 7 February, 2011 in Melbourne which marked the third honour for the cricketer this year. He also clinched the ODI and Test Player of the Year Awards for 2010 – elevating Watson as one of the most sought after cricketers’ in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
This was Watson’s second consecutive award. He is only the second player to win this award back-to-back. The only other Aussie to repeat the feat is Captain Ricky Ponting in 2006 and 2007. He also was the second player after his skipper to win the Allan Border Award, Test Player of the Year Award and ODI Player of the Year Award in the same year.
The 29-year-old cricketer won by a whopping 100 votes as he defeated fellow countrymen Mike Hussey and Mitchell Johnson for the prestigious medal. The all-rounder amassed 295 votes, while veteran batsman Hussey who came second received 195, a difference of 100 votes meant that the all-rounder was a clear favourite in the awards.
On the other hand, the left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was just two votes behind second placed Hussey. He amassed 193 votes and was ranked third.
Watson said, “It’s a true honour to win the Allan Border Medal. To have my family supporting me with my gorgeous wife [http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lee-c72382] who's here tonight, and her family as well, I've been very lucky to [have them] supporting me for a number of years now.”
With this medal, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 has confirmed himself as an integral cog in the Australian squad. Apart from the second consecutive Allan Border Medal, this was his second consecutive One Day International player award as well.
This day gave the all-rounder something to cheer about after the floods caused havocs in his hometown of Ipswich earlier in 2011 and the Ashes loss to England.
David Hussey, however, ruined a perfect night for Watson as he defeated the big all-rounder for the inaugural T20 International award. David Hussey won the award narrowly by just two votes. Hussey collected 12 votes while the big all-rounder and Cameron White collected 10 votes.
For the ODI Player of the Year award, Watson defeated the right-hand batsman Michael Clarke by a close margin of just one vote. The 29-year-old secured 16 votes while http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 and White secured 15 and 13 votes respectively. While in Tests’, he triumphed over Johnson by four votes. He finished with 14 votes while Johnson and Michael Hussey were at 10 and 8 respectively.
Watson was promoted up in the order to open for the Australians. He performed exceptionally well at this position and is expected to become the teams highest paid player, when the central contracts for 2011 will be signed.
During the voting period which began on 14 February, 2010, he was the Kangaroos leading Test scorer. He scored 847 runs and averaged 44.57 while claiming 16 wickets at an average of 29.25. Though he scored only one century and was adjourned player-of-the-match only once.
He was also the highest run scorer in ODI’s for the Australians. He accumulated 858 runs at an impressive average of 40.85; he also grabbed 20 wickets at 26.60. He is most likely to open with wicket-keeper batsman Brad Haddin in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2011.
It was his consistency in all three formats that forced the decision in his favour. Overall he piled 2066 runs, during the voting period, at 38.98.
Watson constantly fell victim to injuries early in his earlier. Although in the last couple of years he has been able to keep his body injury free. Ever since the Ashes 2009 his body is healthier and this reflects in his performance.
He thanked the medical staff and said, “I'd like to thank the Cricket Australia medical staff, especially [team physiotherapist] http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Alex-Kountouris-c43123. Also, John Gloucester and [personal physiotherapist] Victor Popov, who've been kind enough to give their time to me to keep me on the park.”
Shane Watson is a highly skilled and competitive cricketer with a strong history of success in the International arena. Australian fans await the next great performance from Watson in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2011.
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