Steve Smith wins the Allan Border medal for the third time

Steve Smith is surely not new to awards and accolades. The Australian batting legend is considered as one of the best batsmen of the modern era, especially in Test cricket. The batting icon averages in excess of 60 (61.80) in spite of playing 139 innings in the whites.

Smith also holds the record for being the fastest to 7000 Test runs and reached there in just 126 innings, five innings lesser than previous record-holder Wally Hammond. Steve Smith now added another accolade to his already overflowing bucket by winning the Allan Border Medal for his performances in the last year.

For the uninitiated, the medal is awarded to an Australian male cricketer who has displayed exemplary performance on the field in a particular season. Steve Smith received the most number of votes (126) to win the prestigious award this year. His teammates Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch bagged the second and third places, winning 114 votes and 97 votes respectively.

Steve Smith is the Men’s ODI Player of the Year!

During the voting period, Smith scored 568 runs at an average of 63.11, including five half-centuries and two centuries! ? #AusCricketAwards pic.twitter.com/72JTzxMYdG

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 6, 2021

Now, this is the third time that Smith has won the Allan Border Medal. Only former captains Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have won the award on more occasions than Smith, winning the award on 4 occasions.

Steve Smith surprised after winning the award

Steve Smith admitted that he did not have the best cricketing summer with the bat, at least in Test match cricket. But, the right-hander was quick to admit that his ODI record was incredible last year. He concluded by saying that it was always an honor to win the prestigious award.

“I was a bit surprised, I didn’t feel I had the biggest Test summer, which I think holds the most votes. I think my one-day cricket was pretty good last year, so a lot of votes there, but it’s obviously an honor to win this for the third time,” said Smith as quoted by Cricket Australia.

The period of consideration for the award was January 9th, 2020 to January 19th, 2021. And, Smith was in riveting form with the willow in that period in ODI cricket. The batting maestro scored 568 runs in the 10 innings that he played in that period, averaged 63.11, and scored his runs at a strike rate of 106.57.

Even in Test cricket, Smith had a decent run with the willow in that period. He scored 313 runs in that period in white clothing and scored his runs at an average of 44.71. In the T20I arena, he scored 217 runs at a strike rate of 131.52 in the period under review. Smith would surely be a satisfied man, after winning one of the most prestigious awards in Australian cricket.