Australian Cricket Awards: Pat Cummins and Alyssa Healy claim awards

Pat Cummins and Alyssa Healy have been honoured at tonight’s Australian Cricket Awards in Melbourne.

Alyssa Healy, winner of the Belinda Clark Award and Put Cummins, the winner of the Allan Border Medal. Picture: Getty

Cameron Bancroft received two votes in the Allan Border Medal count out of the Cape Town Test. His role in the ball-tampering scandal that brought Australian cricket to its knees was not enough to make his peers, the media or umpires scrap him from their list of most accomplished players in the infamous match.

Pat Cummins received three votes from his Australian teammates at Cape Town. Bancroft earned two and Josh Hazlewood, one. It was in the fine print of details about Monday night’s Australian Cricket Awards in Melbourne.

There was no Steve Smith in attendance. No Dave Warner. No Bancroft. You would think they would have been ruled ineligible for AB Medal points from the Cape Town Test, and probably the entire year. Bancroft used sandpaper to scuff up the ball.

He shoved it down his pants when he was busted by the umpires. It was Warner’s idea, according to Bancroft. Smith admitted to ignoring it. They ended up receiving long suspensions.

Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy. Picture: Getty

The absences of Bancroft, but in particular Smith and Warner, from the function at Crown were a sobering reminder of their extraordinary falls from grace.

Smith and Warner used to be part of the furniture. On Monday night their seats were empty. The Cape Town trio remained outcasts on the sport’s night of nights. It had to be that way.

Smith and Warner had shared the last four AB Medals. A new winner jumped in their graves.

Cummins took 36 wickets in eight Tests during the voting period between January 9, 2018, and January 7 of this year. He contributed valuable lower-order runs — and bobbed up with a couple of one-dayers in an Australian team rocked by the incident that wiped three players out of the side and damaged the very fabric of the baggy green cap.

Cummins was a shining light through some depressingly dark and challenging days. Give the bloke a medal. And they did.

Australia's Pat Cummins celebrates his wicket. Picture: AFP

“It’s an interesting one,” was Cummins’ summation of Cricket Australia’s year from hell.

“I think obviously the way we ended the year was great against Sri Lanka. I felt like by the end of the summer we had a good bunch of players. Not only in the team.

“It feels like there’s 15 to 20 players in the Aussie set-up who have had a go. They’ve had some good experience. They’ve all played really well at different parts.

“At the start of the summer we were unsure with how it was going to go but we’ve ended with a bit of success and a lot of players who have put their hand up.”

Cummins earned 156 votes to edge Nathan Lyon’s 150. Cummins played two less Tests than Lyon’s 12 after missing the Pakistan series due to injury.

Lyon took 49 Test wickets but his ODI absences cost him crucial votes. Warner had 14 votes before the Cape Town disaster. He came 24th in polling, one place higher than Smith on 12 votes.

Bancroft had 18 votes and equal 22nd position. The Cape Town Test was one of his best. He made 77 before he lost his mind — and for the time being, his career.

Alyssa Healy played only in pyjamas in a Test-less year for the Southern Stars. She clipped 907 runs and kept like a beauty.

She recorded her maiden ODI century and dominated the World T20 tournament in the Caribbean. She whipped up 18 catches and 15 stumpings for good measure.

Give her the Belinda Clark Award. And they did, ending the five-year grip on the prize by Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning.

Healy was a runaway winner with 125 votes from speedster Megan Schutt, who took 31 wickets at 12.95 and became the first Australian woman to take an international T20 hat-trick.

Healy scooped the pool of international awards as the ODI and T20 player of the year. Nothing but celebrations for the Southern Stars.

Not a lowlight nor controversy to be recalled. Lyon was the Test player of the year ahead of Cummins. Glenn Maxwell won the T20 player of the year prize from D’Arcy Short. Warner was 12th on that list.

Marcus Stoinis took the ODI gong from Aaron Finch. Votes were lodged after every match played by all Australian sides.

The one that stood out the most was this. Cape Town. Three points to Cummins. And two to Bancroft. It was odd at best, plain wrong at worst.