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Allan Border Medal form guide

Can Michael Clarke take home a fifth Allan Border Medal?

Allan Border Medal

Favourite: Mitchell Johnson

The rejuvenated quick appears to be the man to beat after his outstanding return to form led to him being named Player of the Series in Australia’s triumphant Commonwealth Bank Ashes campaign. Johnson snared 65 wickets at an average of 20.97 across all three formats during the voting period and went from being Australia’s whipping boy to a national cult hero.

Smokey: Brad Haddin

Who could have predicted this 12 months ago? The veteran ‘keeper earned a Test recall, as vice-captain no less, cemented his spot in the ODI team and then delivered one of the great Ashes performances in Australia’s whitewash on home soil. During the away Ashes series, Haddin broke Rod Marsh’s world-record for the most catches in a five-Test series with 29 and almost dragged Australia across the line in the thriller at Trent Bridge.

Reigning champ: Michael Clarke

Can he take home an unprecedented fifth Allan Border Medal on Monday night? The Aussie skipper followed up his record-breaking performances in 2012 with another solid year in which he made 1347 runs at an average of 44.90 across Tests and ODIs. However, the fact that he missed the ICC Champions Trophy and VB Tour of India through injury, while also avoiding the shortest format, may ruin his chances.

Belinda Clark Award

Favourite: Ellyse Perry

Perry cemented her status as a superstar of Australian cricket in the past 12 months. The allrounder collected 22 wickets including one 5-fer, highlighted by her inspiring effort in the World Cup Final where she collected 3-19 from 10 overs with an injured ankle. She also displayed her improved batting prowess with 294 runs at an average 42.00 for the year. Meg Lanning appears to be Perry’s closest competitor for the award, finishing the year with 684 runs at an average of 36.00 with five half-centuries and one ton.

Smokey: Lisa Sthalekar

Can someone who retired in February possibly take out this award? Probably not, but Sthalekar still managed 177 runs at 25.29 and 10 wickets at 25.80 during the voting period before calling an end to an outstanding career. Maybe her screamer to end the ICC Women’s World Cup can be worth extra?

Reigning champ: Jess Cameron

Reigning Belinda Clarke Award winner Jess Cameron finished with 526 runs at an average of 27.68 during the voting period. The attacking No.3 starred in the ICC Women’s World Cup Final with a blistering knock of 75 to earn Player of the Match honours.

Test Player of the Year

Favourite:  Ryan Harris

Ryno will be aiming to become the first quick since Brett Lee in 2008 to be crowned Test Player of the Year. He was able to string together nine Tests in a row during the back-to-back Ashes campaigns, terrorising the England batsmen with 46 wickets along the way. Harris’ bowling average of 19.46 is hard to ignore, though he should expect some stiff competition from Clarke and Johnson. Who could forget his ball to dismiss Cook? Oh and Root?

Smokey: Peter Siddle

The workhouse. The Victorian quick was the only Aussie to play every Test during the voting period and finished the year with 42 wickets at 29.24 apiece. Whether it was the dustbowls in India, the swing-friendly conditions in England or the bouncy WACA, Siddle was Mr. Dependable. His consistency may be the key in being crowned Test Player of the Year.

Reigning champ: Michael Clarke

Is the skipper being judged harshly against his own high standards? Despite finishing the voting period with 1030 runs at 44.78, including four tons, he doesn’t seem to be the certainty for a swag of awards like he was last year. Think he’s pretty comfortable to be now known as an Ashes-winning captain though…

ODI Player of the Year

Favourite: George Bailey

961 runs at an average of 80.08 for the voting period. Yep, you read that correctly. Bailey’s last 12 months, particularly the ODI tour of India, have been incredible. While he was handed Baggy Green No. 437 in November, it was against the white ball that Bailey did his best work. He broke the record for the most runs by any player in a bilateral ODI series (474 at 118.50) in India and also became the second fastest player to 1,500 ODI runs (32 innings).

Smokey: James Faulkner

Is smokey the right title? James Faulkner has been able to establish himself as a genuine world-class allrounder, particularly in the shorter formats. The fiery Tasmanian picked up 26 wickets during the voting period and also smashed the fastest ODI century by an Australian during the epic series in India.

Reigning champ: Clint McKay

The reliable seamer continued his strong form from last year, collecting 29 wickets to top the list of Aussie bowlers during the voting period. He may have struggled during the tour of India, but name a bowler who didn’t!

T20I Player of the Year

Favourite: Aaron Finch

Has to be. The powerful opener smashed 254 runs at a strike-rate of 201.59, 192 runs ahead of the next best Aussie batsman. His world-record knock of 156 against England included 14 sixes. Ridiculous.

Smokey: Pluck a name out of a hat.

With such little cricket to work from throughout the year, Finch’s record makes him more-or-less a certainty.  Faulkner topped the list of wicket-takers so maybe he can cause an upset? Unlikely.

Reigning champ: Shane Watson

The allrounder scored 50 runs and picked up one wicket from his three T20Is for the year. This is Finch’s award.

Domestic Player Award

(Bupa Sheffield Shield, RYOBI One-Day Cup and KFC T20 Big Bash League)

Favourite:  Cameron White.

After losing the Bushrangers captaincy to Matthew Wade, White piled on the runs in the back half of 2013 and earned Player of the Tournament during Victoria’s unsuccessful RYOBI Cup assault. His consistency over the last few months can’t be questioned, but there is no doubt he needs to turn his half-centuries into triple-figure scores to win back his spot in the national set-up. 1,342 runs at 47.93 across all formats should be enough for the Victorian veteran to earn the Domestic Player Award.

Smokey: David Warner

He couldn’t, could he? He played in just 12 domestic matches for the year, but he managed 855 runs at an average of 61.07 including four tons.  He missed out on selection in Australia’s ODI squad for the tour of India and responded with a brilliant RYOBI Cup tournament, highlighted by a stunning 197 in the semi-final.

Reigning champ: Phil Hughes

Hughes only played in 10 domestic matches during the voting period but was still able to pile on four centuries, including a double-ton for the Redbacks in the Bupa Sheffield Shield. He will be hoping sheer weight of runs can see him return to the national team sooner rather than later.

Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year

(Qualification: Bupa Sheffield Shield, RYOBI One-Day Cup, KFC T20 Big Bash League, Australia A and International cricket for Australia - England Country cricket is excluded). Open to any player who was aged 24 or under and had not played more than 10 first-class matches at the start of the voting period)

Favourite: Jordan Silk

The young Tasmanian wasted no time making his mark on the Australian cricket scene. His patient century on day one of the Bupa Sheffield Shield Final illustrated his ability to construct an innings in trying conditions, while his stunning catch in the KFC T20 Big Bash League supported Ricky Ponting’s statement that he is the best fielder in the country.

Smokey: Gurinder Sandhu

Another young player to make his mark was New South Welshman Gurinder Sandhu. In just his first season of first-class cricket, the rookie seamer was awarded the Steve Waugh Medal as the best NSW cricketer for 2012-13. He earned a call-up to the Australia A squad in 2013 and spent time working with the great Glenn McGrath over in India, so he’s in safe hands. Also, some guy called Agar had a pretty good year as well…

Reigning champ: Joe Burns

With 705 runs at 33.57 across all formats in the voting period, Queensland’s Joe Burns would probably be a little disappointed after his outstanding performances the year prior. He is averaging over 50 in the first half of the Bupa Sheffield Shield season though so it’s hardly reached a crisis point.

The Allan Border Medal event will be streamed live on cricket.com.au Monday night. You can also follow the event via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.