Ricky Ponting presents his summer awards

Best of the KFC Big Bash League

Player of the tournament: D'Arcy Short

With a record amount of runs and the highest score in the history of the Big Bash, Ponting had little trouble selecting Hobart's D'Arcy Short as his player of the tournament. 

"He had an unbelievable Big Bash - broke all sorts of records," Ponting said. "He's still a young bloke still developing his game but to see him dominate this year, and string together some consistent match-winning performances for his team ... shows just how good a player he is."

Rising star: Billy Stanlake

Most under-rated player: Ashton Turner

Best fielder: Glenn Maxwell

Top five BBL moments

Best of the Ashes

Top five moments

Mitchell Starc's 'ball of the summer', Tom Curran's no-ball ... there were plenty of magical Ashes moments. But for Ponting, numero uno belonged to Nathan Lyon, who produced a stunning run-out of James Vince in the series opener at the Gabba. 

"England were going well, on top in the game - everything looked pretty flat; the wicket was slow, there wasn't much happening," Ponting recalls. "There was a half-chance created by Nathan Lyon at point - to pick up in one hand, throw the stumps down and run out a set batsman at a crucial time, was something that probably wasn't highlighted enough (in terms of) just how big an impact that had on the game."

Best player: Steve Smith

Ponting wasted little time declaring the Aussie skipper - who dominated the series - as his best player from the five Tests. 

"He led by example from pretty much the first ball of the series - he scored his slowest Test hundred on a slow pitch," said Ponting. "Did what he had to do for his team and most importantly put his stamp on the series at his first possible opportunity."

Most under-rated player: Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh capitalised on his surprise recall with an outstanding Ashes, scoring 445 runs at 74 and impressing Ponting along the way. 

"The selectors copped some criticism for going back to Shaun Marsh at the start of the series but he repaid them in spades," Ponting said. "I spoke to (WA coach) Justin Langer leading into that series, and he said he thought Shaun was playing better than ever. I think that was in evidence throughout the series."

Funniest moment of the summer: Marsh madness!