Travis Head became the first South Australian to win the Allan Border Medal on Monday night. But it also marked the first time in its 25-year history that the winner of the prestigious medal wasn’t at the Australian Cricket Awards in person to receive it from Border.

Head and Annabel Sutherland won Australian cricket‘s top individual honours, with Head taking out the Allan Border Medal convincingly, and Sutherland winning the Belinda Clark Award days after becoming the first woman to score a Test century at the MCG. But due to a change in cricket’s already jam-packed schedule in 2025, the men’s Test team were 8000km away in Sri Lanka.

The tour of Sri Lanka would normally take place at the end of February, leaving a window for the Australian Cricket Awards after the end of the Aussie summer. But the ICC Champions Trophy has been added to the cricket calendar this year (beginning on February 19 before the IPL), meaning the tour of Sri Lanka had to be held earlier than normal.

That meant Cricket Australia and Channel 7 were forced into the unwanted position of holding the annual awards without the men’s Test team present. It meant when Border announced Head as the winner on Monday night, his reaction and acceptance speech were relayed via a pre-recorded video taken in Sri Lanka.

Cricket fans fume over ‘disrespectful’ situation

It marked the first time in the 25-year history of the Allan Border Medal that the winner didn’t accept it from the great man in person. Fans have described the situation as “disrespectful” to Border and questioned why Cricket Australia and Channel 7 couldn’t come up with a better solution.

According to reports, the idea of pre-recording Border handing Head the medal was rejected, and there wasn’t a feasible solution. Cricket Australia reportedly held talks with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and broadcasters Channel 7 and Foxtel about holding the awards earlier, but the decision was made to leave it on February 3.

Cricket Australia weren’t keen on holding the awards before the end of the BBL season, or before the women’s Ashes Test against England. Sutherland’s historic century went a long way to winning her the Belinda Clark Award, so it wouldn’t have been an option to hold the awards before the women’s Test.

Cricket Australia’s head of events Joel Morrison told The Age last year: “It’s a reflection of the evolution of the global game and the increasing playing opportunities overseas while the awards are on. This is the first time where we literally haven’t been able to find a window where all players can be in the one location at the one time, without conflicting with a BBL game and still holding it in the thick of the cricket season as opposed to at the end of the season for club and state cricket in March.”

Discussing the situation on SEN radio on Monday morning, Kane Cornes said: “It’s like having the Brownlow Medal and the top eight fancies are ineligible. Even the rusted-on SEN lovers of cricket if you asked them ‘Hey list me off the last five AB medal winners’, I don’t reckon they could do that. It is the most meaningless award. It just doesn’t mean anything.”

Making the situation even worse for Border is the fact he’s going through a public battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The Aussie cricket legend made a brave appearance on Monday night and spoke well, but his ill-health was noticeable to see.

Australian Cricket Award winners:

• Allan Border Medal – Travis Head

• Belinda Clark Award – Annabel Sutherland

• Shane Warne men’s Test player of the year – Josh Hazlewood

• Men’s one-day player of the year – Travis Head

• Men’s T20 international player of the year – Adam Zampa

• Women’s one-day international player of the year – Ashleigh Gardner

• Women’s T20 international player of the year – Beth Mooney

• Bradman young men’s cricketer of the year – Sam Konstas

• Betty Wilson young women’s cricketer of the year – Chloe Ainsworth

• Domestic players of the year – Beau Webster and Georgia Voll

• BBL players of the tournament – Cooper Connolly and Glenn Maxwell

• WBBL players of the tournament – Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen

• Community impact award – Cameron Green