Photo Credit: Cricket Tasmania
Bird, Carey, Graham win big at Cricket Tasmania’s Awards Night
Jackson Bird has secured back-to-back Ricky Ponting Medals – the highest individual honour on offer to a Tasmanian male cricketer – at the Cricket Tasmania Awards Night. Held at Hobart’s Crowne Plaza this evening – which officially brought a long and unique 2020-21 season to a close – Bird capped off another superb domestic season for the Tigers, in which he took 45 wickets and made 258 runs across both the first-class and one-day formats of the game. Bird now joins an elite club of just five other players to have won the award multiple times.
Meanwhile, Australian star, Nicola Carey, has tied with first-year Tiger, Heather Graham, in the voting for the top female award of the night, the Female Tigers Player of the Year. The two all-rounders both had exceptional seasons, incredibly taking 11 wickets apiece, and making aggregate run totals of 285 and 284 respectively. Carey set the tone for the season, making her maiden Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) ton in the Tigers’ first match of the season against the ACT, whilst Graham, as well as making a ton against NSW in Hobart, finish the season with a five wicket haul with the ball, which incredibly included a hat trick.
A comprehensive list of award winners is detailed below:
Female Young Player of the Year
Selected by Tigers female coaching staff
AMY SMITH
Jamie Cox Male Young Player of the Year
Selected by Tigers male coaching staff
CALEB JEWELL
State Umpire of the Year
Selected by Cricket Tasmania Match Officials team
MIKE GRAHAM-SMITH
Chairman’s Award – Female Program
Selected by Cricket Tasmania Chairman, Andrew Gaggin
AMY SMITH
Chairman’s Award – Male Program
Selected by Cricket Tasmania Chairman, Andrew Gaggin
JACKSON BIRD
Scott Mason Memorial Male Captain’s Award
Selected by the Tigers captain
CHARLIE WAKIM
Female Tigers Captain’s Award
Selected by the Tigers captain
EMILY SMITH
Jack Simmons Medal – Marsh One-Day Cup
Voted on by players and coaches
JORDAN SILK
Top 4:
Jordan Silk (66)
Tom Andrews (62)
Ben McDermott (51)
Jackson Bird (46)
Hobart Hurricanes WBBL|06 Player of the Tournament
Voted on by players and coaches
RACHEL PRIEST
Top 4:
Rachel Priest (199)
Nicola Carey (146)
Hayley Matthews (122)
Belinda Vakarewa (95)
Hobart Hurricanes BBL|10 Player of the Tournament
Voted on by players and coaches
SCOTT BOLAND
Top 4:
Scott Boland (168)
D’Arcy Short (161)
Ben McDermott (127)
Riley Meredith (123)
David Boon Medal – Marsh Sheffield Shield
Voted on by players and coaches
JAKE DORAN
Top 4:
Jake Doran (105)
Jackson Bird (104)
Beau Webster (77)
Ben McDermott (65)
Female Tigers Player of the Year
Voted on by players and coaches
NICOLA CAREY and HEATHER GRAHAM
Top 4:
Nicola Carey & heather Graham (118)
Sasha Moloney (77)
Naomi Stalenberg (74)
Ricky Ponting Medal
Voted on by players and coaches – combined total of first-class and one-day votes
JACKSON BIRD
Top 4:
Jackson Bird (150)
Jordan Silk (108)
Jake Doran (105)
Beau Webster (100)
With Cricket Australia announcing earlier today Tom Andrews as the joint winner of the Marsh One-Day Cup Player of the Year (tied with NSW’s David Warner), the evening also served as an opportunity to recognise this achievement.
A host of both Tigers and Hurricanes debutants and milestone achievements were also acknowledged throughout the evening:
2020-21 Milestones
50 games for the Hobart Hurricanes
Hayley Matthews
Ben McDermott
Sasha Moloney
D’Arcy Short
2,000 runs for the Hobart Hurricanes
D’Arcy Short
2,500 One-Day Cup runs for the Tasmanian Tigers
Tim Paine
300 first-class wickets for Tasmania
Jackson Bird
400 first-class wickets
Jackson Bird
2020-21 Debutants
Tasmanian Tigers Male Program
Peter Siddle
– First-class cap #201
– One-day cap #226
Tom Andrews
– First-class cap #202
– One-day cap #225
Tim Ward
– First-class cap #203
Mitchell Owen
– One-day cap #224
Tasmanian Tigers Male Program
Rachel Priest – cap #75
Heather Graham – cap #76
Naomi Stalenberg – cap #77
Sarah Coyte – cap #78
Hobart Hurricanes WBBL
Rachel Priest – cap #34
Naomi Stalenberg – cap #35
Erica Kershaw – cap #36
Amy Smith – cap #37
Hayley Jensen – cap #38
Chloe Rafferty – cap #39
Hobart Hurricanes BBL
Will Jacks – cap #65
Colin Ingram – cap #66
Peter Handscomb – cap #67
Tim David – cap #68
Keemo Paul – cap #69
Dawid Malan – cap #70
Wil Parker – cap #71
Sandeep Lamichhane – cap #72
Nick Winter – cap #73
Mitchell Owen – cap #74
Alex Doolan’s career, following his decision to retire from elite cricket, was also celebrated during the evening.
Finally, with the 2019/20 Awards Night cancelled days out from the event due to the COVID-19 shutdown, all award winners from the previous season were also recognised in front of their peers:
Female Young Player of the Year: Amy Smith
Jamie Cox Male Young Player of the Year: Mac Wright
Chairman’s Award: Beau Webster
Scott Mason Memorial Captain’s Award: Nathan Ellis
Jack Simmons Medal – Marsh One-Day Cup: Jackson Bird
David Boon Medal – Marsh Sheffield Shield: Jackson Bird
Hurricanes WBBL|05 Player of the Tournament: Belinda Vakarewa
Hurricanes BBL|09 Player of the Tournament: D’Arcy Short
Female Tigers Player of the Year: Maisy Gibson
Ricky Ponting Medal: Jackson Bird
Name of Author: Cricket Tasmania
Cricket Tasmania, formerly the Tasmanian Cricket Association, oversees cricket in Tasmania, Australia, from its base at Bellerive Oval. It promotes and develops cricket through junior and educational programs, manages Tasmanian Grade Cricket competitions, and administers the Tasmanian Tigers, the state’s first-class team. The Tigers compete in the Sheffield Shield, Ford Ranger Cup, and domestic Twenty20 competitions.
