Do Aussie cricketers have stones in their head?

[The Outsider]

Ricky Ponting with a test average of 44 in tests and 25 in ODIs in the voting period has been awarded the Allan Border Medal for the best Australian player. Really feel bad for Mitchell Johnson, who has literally kept Australia afloat with tireless bowling efforts throughout the year. 54 wickets @ 27 on some unresponsive surfaces in Tests is a superlative effort and the guy just kept charging in bowling at consistently high speeds. And the person who shared the award was deputy Pup, who had a good year in tests with an average of 55, but an ODI average of 16! http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/388900.html

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have jointly won the Allan Border Medal, the first time in the award's ten-year history that it has been shared. At the end of a period of decline for Australia, it was notable that it was their captain and vice-captain who stood at the top with 41 votes each. The other man who has led the side in the past, Michael Hussey, was third with 38, while Mitchell Johnson, who had been the favourite in the lead-up to the ceremony, came in fourth with 30 votes. It was the fourth win for Ponting, who also collected the medal in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and the second for Clarke, who won the prize in 2005. Clarke said it was especially pleasing to share the prize with Ponting, who had been a mentor over the past few years. That has been especially so over the past 12 months after Clarke took over the vice-captaincy from Adam Gilchrist, a role he has clearly relished. "As soon as I've walked into the Australian team I've tried to learn as much as possible from Ricky Ponting," Clarke said. "Nothing has really changed to be honest. Being vice-captain has just brought me a lot closer." During the voting period, which began on February 26 last year, Clarke was second to Simon Katich on Australia's Test run tally with 1019 at 56.61, including one century in each of Australia's four Test series. In the one-day format, Clarke took the reins as skipper on several occasions but his own form was below-par, with 209 runs at 16.07. Ponting had a similarly lopsided season, and one that was by his lofty standards relatively quiet. But in a side that has struggled to maintain its No. 1 position, Ponting's 974 Test runs at 44.27 have been invaluable. He scored three centuries during the voting period but his efforts didn't always equate to Australian victories, as at the MCG in December, when he scored 101 and 99 in the loss to South Africa. In one-day internationals, Ponting's form was less impressive and he made 309 runs at 25.75 with a highest score of 69. Ponting was visibly surprised when he was announced as one of the winners and he said he had expected Clarke or Johnson to take out the honour. "This is an amazing shock to me," Ponting said. "I was sitting back at the table tonight and waiting for Pup or Mitch to get up here tonight and accept the award. As we all know it's been an up-and-down year for the team. Everybody at the moment is writing us off but I know deep down in my heart that we're not very far away at all. "It's been an amazing time with some of our greats leaving the team, some obviously very young and exciting players coming into the team. It's an amazing challenge for me and certainly for Michael to keep leading this team in the right direction, hopefully showing some direction and passing on some experience to the younger guys." Clarke was also named the Test Player of the Year for the first time, while Nathan Bracken was rewarded for his outstanding limited-overs bowling form with his first One-Day International Player of the Year title. In the Test category, Clarke won with 12 votes from Ponting and Simon Katich, who were in joint second with 10. Bracken picked up his one-day award thanks to a one-vote buffer from the second-placed Hussey, who himself was one vote clear of Shaun Marsh in third. Bracken played 16 of Australia's 17 ODIs during the voting period and he collected 22 wickets at 24.50, with an economy rate of 4.09. He was the Player of the Series in last year's CB Series against Sri Lanka and India. He began the voting period with his best bowling for the year, when he collected 4 for 29 against Sri Lanka at the MCG. Bracken's season stayed strong after that and he had a particularly productive tour of the West Indies, where he picked up eight wickets at 19.75 and helped the side complete a 5-0 whitewash. Bracken has developed a formidable reputation as a death bowler and he said it was a role he enjoyed. "It's good fun, it's something that I really enjoy doing," Bracken said upon receiving his trophy. "I guess it's good being in control at the end."

[Anakin]

Johnson has been awfully behind in the "team and OZ spirit" department. Even Haddin has already done more than Johnson.

[EnterTheVoid]

Over the last period of 12 months, can you think of a more deserving australian cricketer Sure, its been a rough ride, but they cant just cancel the annual awards ceremony just because australia is slogging it out and not winning matches Every year, they pick a cricketer and this year, they had to make due with what they had simple

[The Outsider]

^ I already told you of a more deserving cricketer - Johnson. The guy was superb throughout the year and bowled his heart out on a lot of dead tracks for fast bowlers. Hussey wouldn't have been a bad choice either, combining ODIs and tests.

[graphic23]

I would've thought MJ has been miles above others in terms of the effort put in (and even more importantly, getting the results). Unfortunately, Australians don't think so. Neither Clarke nor Ponting deserved it (well, by a stretch of imagination, perhaps Ponting but not Clarke at all). The team and Australian cricket seems to be in terrible condition in general.

[EnterTheVoid]

^ I already told you of a more deserving cricketer - Johnson. The guy was superb throughout the year and bowled his heart out on a lot of dead tracks for fast bowlers. Hussey wouldn't have been a bad choice either' date=' combining ODIs and tests.[/quote'] well, tell that to Mr Allan Border Afrer all, he's the big kahuna of Australian cricketer and is the player the medal / annual ceremony is named after

[The Outsider]

well, tell that to Mr Allan Border Afrer all, he's the big kahuna of Australian cricketer and is the player the medal / annual ceremony is named after

Since you are in Australia, I thought you will be able to convey the message sooner - that's why I posted the thread.

[graphic23]

^ Haha. :-D BTW, sree, the reason the title is named 'Aussie cricketers have stones in their heads' because its based off a voting mechanism and RT and MC got the most votes. :P

[EnterTheVoid]

Since you are in Australia' date=' I thought you will be able to convey the message sooner - that's why I posted the thread.[/quote'] Sharp reply, but a simple phone call to Mr Border would've sufficed, no? On a serious note, putting cricketing performances aside, not that there was much to harp about anyway, I thought Ponting was a bit of a strange choice for such a prestigious medal given all the controversies he landed in, in the past year or so