Sydney, Jan 20 (IANS): Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, the star of the Ashes series claiming 37 wickets, Monday won the 2014 Allan Border Medal.
At the Dolton House here, Johnson bagged the award after he polled an aggregated total of 168 votes over Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals during the past 12 months.
Johnson, with his menacing and destructive fast bowling, came to symbolise Australia’s dominance over their long-time foes England in an historic Ashes whitewash.
Despite being named the International Cricket Council’s International Player of the Year in 2009, Johnson had never before been awarded Australian cricket’s highest honour.
The Belinda Clark Award was won by women's team vice-captain Meg Lanning. The Victorian polled 33 votes to edge out Erin Osborne (31 votes) with last year’s winner Jess Cameron and Sarah Coyte tied for third place (25 votes).
Lanning, who was runner-up in the award last year, played a total of 17 matches in the voting period, amassing 684 runs at an average of 36.00 with a superb strike rate of 78.53. During the period she notched up five half centuries and one century.
The award caps a fantastic 12 months for Lanning, which included a Player-of-the-Series performance in the WT20 INTL Series against New Zealand, and an ICC Women’s World Cup victory in India, where she scored her fourth career ODI century.
Victorian and Melbourne Stars right-hander Cameron White was named Domestic Player of the Year.
Thirty-year-old White relinquished the Victorian captaincy prior to the 2013-14 season after a decade at the helm and the change hasn’t harmed his form. He enjoyed a superb series in the condensed Ryobi Cup competition, scoring five half-centuries in six games to be named Player of the Series. He scored 387 runs at 77.40.
In the Sheffield Shield, the powerful right-hander scored 858 runs at an average of 47.67 throughout the voting period - the most of any player - and took 11 wickets at 23.73.
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award went to Jordan Silk, who capped a terrific start to his first-class career to be named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.
Silk debuted in March last season, scoring an assured century in just his second match to help lift Tasmania into the Bupa Sheffield Shield final. His seven-hour innings of 107 in the decider underlined his sound temperament and technique.
The right-hander has continued to impress in 2013-14, posting tons against Queensland and South Australia to take his tally to four centuries from just 11 first-class games.
In nine Sheffield Shield matches in the voting period, Silk scored 768 runs at an average of 42.67, adding a further 238 at 39.67 in the Ryobi Cup.
He totalled 1,006 runs across both formats throughout the voting period, at an average of 41.91.
Award winners --
Allan Border Medal: Mitchell Johnson
Belinda Clark Award: Meg Lanning
Test Player of the Year: Michael Clarke
One-Day International Player of the Year: George Bailey
T20 International Player of the Year: Aaron Finch
Domestic Player of the Year: Cameron White (Victoria/Melbourne Stars)
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: Jordan Silk (Tasmania/Sydney Sixers)
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame: Belinda Clark, Mark Waugh.