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Ellyse Perry wins Belinda Clark Award

Australia allrounder rewarded for ground-breaking year with second Belinda Clark Award

Star allrounder Ellyse Perry has won the Belinda Clark Award for a second time, officially confirming her as Australia's best cricketer from the past 12 months.

Having previously won the award in 2016, Perry was honoured at Allan Border Medal Night in Melbourne to cap off a 12-month period that also saw her named the ICC's Cricketer of the Year.

The 27-year-old totalled 116 votes to win the award by a staggering gap of 38, the same margin that separated the next eight players who followed her on the list of vote-getters.

Batter Beth Mooney, who was named the Domestic Player of the Year, was Perry's nearest challenger with 78 votes while fast bowler Megan Schutt (65) and injured skipper Meg Lanning (63) finished third and fourth respectively.

But the chasing pack were far behind their inspirational allrounder, who polled at least one vote in 12 of the 17 matches she played under the system that factors in votes from players, team officials and umpires.

Perry powers her way to double ton

The crowning moment of Perry's year was her memorable double-century in the historic day-night Ashes Test in Sydney, her unbeaten 213 part of a year that saw her score 756 runs across all forms of the game to go with 20 wickets at an average of 32.

A tally that came despite missing the first four games of the voting period due to a hamstring injury.

And while 2017 was the just the third time this century that the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars finished the calendar year without the title of world champions, their Ashes triumph over the summer would have no doubt softened the blow.

In addition to her Test double hundred, Perry scored 138 runs and claimed 10 wickets in the multi-format Ashes campaign, a key contribution especially given the absence of the world's best batter and captain Lanning.

Perry plucks reflex catch to remove Taylor

Australia's retention of the Ashes came after they had relinquished their 50-over World Cup crown earlier in the year, undone by a once-in-a-lifetime innings from Indian Harmanpreet Kaur in the semi-final before England won the title in a memorable final at Lord's.

Perry was one of the dominant batters of that campaign, finishing the tournament as the third-highest run-scorer with 404 runs at an average of 80, scoring a half-century in five of eight matches to go with nine vital wickets.

Perry stars for Sixers wtih unbeaten 91

And while the Belinda Clark Award factors in international matches only, Perry also led her Sydney Sixers to another Rebel WBBL title last week and her all-conquering NSW Breakers side are currently top of the ladder in the 50-over Women's National Cricket League that concludes later this month.

So there could be more silverware to come for her already jam-packed trophy cabinet.

Belinda Clark Award

Ellyse Perry - 116 votes

Beth Mooney - 78

Megan Schutt - 65

Meg Lanning - 63

Alex Blackwell - 56