Travis Head claimed his second straight Allan Border Medal at the 2026 Australian Cricket Awards, becoming only the fifth player to win consecutively after Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, and David Warner. His standout 2025-26 season, featuring a third Ashes century, secured the honor in a razor-thin vote over close friend Alex Carey. Mitchell Starc won Test Player of the Year for his Ashes heroics, Mitchell Marsh took ODI honors, and Tim David earned T20I Player of the Year, celebrating Australia’s strong year across formats.
Head wins award by 1 vote
Travis Head has emerged as the frontrunner for the 2025–26 Allan Border Medal, narrowly leading teammate Alex Carey in the voting. Head sits on 153 votes, just one ahead of Carey on 152, while Mitchell Starc follows closely with 150 votes. Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh round out the leading group with 96 and 86 votes respectively. The extremely close gap at the top highlights the strong performances from Australia’s leading players and sets up an exciting finish in the race for one of Australian cricket’s most prestigious individual honours.
I personally found this very funny. I would really love to see how Alex Carey reacted to this.
All the Winners
Australia’s top cricketing talent has been recognised across all three formats, with Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh and Tim David taking centre stage. Head’s outstanding performances earned him the Allan Border Medal, while Starc was honoured as the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year. Marsh claimed the Men’s ODI Player of the Year award, and David was recognised as the Men’s T20I Player of the Year. The four awards underline Australia’s impressive depth, with each player making a significant impact in their respective format.
A Closely Contested Race
Travis Head’s narrow lead over Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc reflects the outstanding contributions of Australia’s leading players across the season. With only a handful of votes separating the top contenders, the final result could come down to the smallest of margins. Regardless of who takes the medal, the voting highlights the remarkable depth, consistency and competitiveness of Australian cricket.
