In a series of proud events, star Australia batter Travis Head has added another big honour to his career after retaining the prestigious Allan Border Medal, becoming just the fifth cricketer to claim the award in back-to-back years. The star left-handed batter emerged victorious in an incredibly tight race, finishing only one vote ahead of his close friend and teammate Alex Carey to win the country's highest individual men's cricket honour.
Big win for Travis Head
Former Australia captain Allan Border presented Head with the Prestigious medal at Friday's award ceremony, marking the batter's second consecutive triumph. Head topped the voting for performances registered between January 29, 2025 and January 8, 2026, but the clash went right down to the wire. Alex Carey fell short by just one vote, while experienced speedster Mitchell Start was only three votes behind Head.
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Upon winning the medal, Head expressed his gratitude, saying winning two medals back-to-back is pretty cool and it is something which he could brag about in the twenty years time.
“To think that I’ve got two medals and my kids can look at them and I can tell them (about it) in 20 years’ time is pretty cool," said Head.
Head strengthened his case for the honour with a series of match-winning innings, particularly during the Ashes. The 32-year-old smashed centuries in three different Tests, scoring 123 in Perth, 170 in Adelaide and 163 in the New Year's clash at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.
His impact was not limited to red-ball cricket either, as he also smashed an amazing knock of 142 against South Africa in an ODI game at Mackay.
Travis Head joins exclusive list
The latest honour has placed Head in an elite group of Australian players, alongside Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon, to have claimed the Allan Border Medal more than once. He also became only fifth player to retain the award, joining Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, David Warner and Shane Watson.
Other than Head, Mitchell Marsh took home the ODI Player of the Year honour, while explosive batter Tim David was rewarded with the T20I Player of the Year award. In the women's category. Annabel Sutherland had already secured one of Australian cricket's biggest individual honours after winning the Belinda Clark Medal in February.