Travis heads trophy haul after tough summer

A summer tinged with setbacks and disappointment for Travis Head has ended in personal triumph for the deposed Test batter who cleaned up at South Australia's end-of-season awards presentation last night.

Head, who lost his place in Australia's Test line-up and endured a winless season as captain of the Redbacks, was awarded the Neil Dansie Medal as the outstanding men's player of 2020-21 in addition to being named the state's best in the Marsh Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup competitions.

It completed a prolific summer for the former Test vice-captain, who finished as second-highest Shield runs scorer (behind Western Australia's Cameron Green, who usurped Head in the Test team) and second-highest in the one-day competition (after Victoria's Peter Handscomb).

The 27-year-old also posted his inaugural first-class double-century – against WA in Perth – and recently became engaged to girlfriend Jessica Davies.

It was the first time Head has won the Dansie Medal, SA's pre-eminent men's cricket prize, given he has historically missed large swathes of the domestic season due to international duties.

SA Scorpions' leading runs-scorer Bridget Patterson was also awarded her maiden McCauley Medal as the outstanding player of the Women's National Cricket League season, which she finished as fifth-highest runs scorer across the competition.

Her success came after an atypical pre-season during which she spent much of the winter preparing in isolation on Kangaroo Island due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Patterson finished the summer with 371 runs at an average of 61.83 including two centuries, and claimed the award ahead of teammates Tahlia McGrath and Courtney Webb.

Teenage fast bowler Darcie Brown was crowned the most improved Scorpions player just hours after winning her first Cricket Australia contract, while allrounder Liam Scott was named most improved men's player.

And pace bowlers Sarah Coyte and Wes Agar received MVP honours for the Adelaide Strikers WBBL and BBL outfits respectively.

Redbacks opener Henry Hunt was named the winner of the Barry 'Nugget' Rees award as "the player who annually displays passion for South Australia and South Australian cricket, humility, honesty and integrity, teamwork and respect for the game of cricket".

SACA Awards 2020-21

Major awards

Neil Dansie Medal: Travis Head

Andrea McCauley Medal: Bridget Patterson

Lord Hampden Trophy (Shield MVP): Travis Head

Marsh One-Day Cup MVP: Travis Head

WBBL MVP: Sarah Coyte

BBL MVP: Wes Agar

Other awards

State Indigenous Female Player of the Year: Jacinta Goodger-Chandler

State Indigenous Male Player of the Year: Tyrell Sinclair

Peter Wang Award: Zac Worden (recognising a youth squad member who shows excellent cricket ability, high work ethic, team loyalty, distinguished character and respect for the game's spirit)

Marsh One-Day Cup batting award: Travis Head, 276 runs

Marsh One-Day Cup bowling award: Wes Agar, 7 wickets

WNCL Batting award: Bridget Patterson, 371 runs

WNCL Bowling award: Samantha Betts, 11 wickets

WNCL Most Improved: Darcie Brown

WBBL Batting award: Laura Wolvaardt, 347 runs

WBBL Bowling award: Sarah Coyte, 18 wickets

BBL Batting: Jake Weatherald, 433 runs

BBL Bowling: Wes Agar, 22 wickets

Barry 'Nugget' Rees Award: Henry Hunt

James Irwin Trophy (first-class batting): Travis Head, 893 runs

First Class Bowling Trophy: Chadd Sayers, 13 wickets

Barry Jarman Most Improved trophy: Liam Scott