Travis Head Clinches Second Consecutive Allan Border Medal in Thrilling Vote

Travis Head's Remarkable Achievement

On August 7 in Sydney, Australian cricketer Travis Head has made history by becoming the fifth player to secure the Allan Border Medal in consecutive years, narrowly defeating teammate Alex Carey in a competitive voting process.

In addition, Mitchell Starc was honored with the Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year award, while Mitchell Marsh and Tim David were recognized as the top players in ODI and T20I formats, respectively, as reported by cricket.com.au.

Head received his second Allan Border Medal from the legendary former captain Allan Border during a ceremony held in Brisbane on Friday.

Last year, Head won the medal by a significant margin and was also in contention for several other accolades. This year, however, he triumphed by a slim margin, thanks to votes from players, umpires, and media personnel.

He surpassed South Australian teammate Alex Carey by just one vote and Mitchell Starc by three votes. His pivotal innings of 163 in the New Year’s Test at the SCG, marking his third century of the Ashes series after stepping up to open the batting, was crucial in earning him this honor.

Head distinguished himself from fellow contenders Carey, Starc, and Smith by finishing the voting period as Australia’s top Test run-scorer and leading batter in the ODI team.

Throughout the 2025-26 season, he achieved four centuries, including a rapid 142 against South Africa in Mackay, a match-winning 123 in the Perth Test, and a 170 in Adelaide that contributed to Australia’s Ashes retention.

With this accolade, Head joins teammates Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon as multiple Allan Border Medal winners. He is now among the elite group of Australians who have won the award in consecutive years, alongside Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, David Warner, and Shane Watson.

Expressing his gratitude, Head shared his honor at having Allan Border present the medal and described winning two AB Medals as a significant milestone he looks forward to sharing with his children in the future.

"I felt very privileged and honored to have 'AB' (Border) in the room; that’s the difference from last year’s presentation in Sri Lanka, having him there to present it. 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," Head remarked after receiving the award.