It was the first time for each player to win Australian cricket’s highest individual honours. While Head was a favourite for the top men’s prize, also claiming the one-day international player award, Sutherland was third in the one-day voting and a distant sixth for the women’s T20I international award.
But she was awarded top votes for the two Tests played by the Australian women in the voting period over the past 12 months, most recently scoring 163 at the MCG as the hosts capped their Ashes whitewash.
The extra weighting for the Test votes proved the difference for Sutherland. It is the first time she has won any of the top women’s categories – the Belinda Clark Award, the ODI or the T20I player.
“For me, I love batting, probably my Test record shows that, and I try and make the most of that when I get out in the middle,” Sutherland said.
Head, who received his award from head coach Andrew McDonald at the team hotel in Galle, was a clear winner of the Allan Border Medal and is the first South Australian to claim the award. He also won the ODI category for the first time.
Head is coming off a bumper 12 months across. The 31-year-old scored a staggering 1427 runs across all three formats in the 12-month polling period that began with Australia’s home Test series against West Indies last January, and ended with the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Asked for the highlight of his past 12 months, Head said: “I feel like the Indian series, the Test series that’s just gone. Nice to contribute. It’s such a big five or six weeks.”
While none of the top men’s winners were at the Monday night awards function in Melbourne due mostly to the current tour of Sri Lanka, the women were celebrating in the room after they dominated the Ashes series.
Mooney and Zampa were named the top T20I players, while Gardner took out the women’s ODI category and Hazlewood the men’s Test honour.
Full list of award winners
Belinda Clark Award: Annabel Sutherland
Allan Border Medal: Travis Head
Women’s ODI Player of the Year: Ashleigh Gardner
Women’s T20I Player of the Year: Beth Mooney
Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year: Josh Hazlewood
Men’s ODI Player of the Year: Travis Head
Men’s T20I Player of the Year: Adam Zampa
WBBL Player of the Tournament: Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen
BBL Player of the Tournament: Glenn Maxwell and Cooper Connolly
Women’s Domestic Player of the Year: Georgia Voll
Men’s Domestic Player of the Year: Beau Webster
Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year: Chloe Ainsworth
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: Sam Konstas
Community Impact Award: Cameron Green
Woolworths Cricket Blaster of the Year: Frankie Mountney
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees: Michael Clarke, Christina Matthews and Michael Bevan