David Warner is recognised as Australia's T20 Player of the Year for format in which he first made his name
Warner named T20 Player of the Year
Having started his stellar international career in the emerging 20-over format more than a decade ago, David Warner reaffirmed his status within the short-form game by claiming his first men's T20 Player of the Year honour at tonight's Australian Cricket Awards.
Despite his renown as a top-order slugger and having earned plaudits for his runs-scoring and leadership in the annual Indian Premier League competition, Warner had not previously won the nation's preeminent T20 prize that was first presented in 2011.
Since Melbourne Stars coach David Hussey won the inaugural award, it has been dominated by Shane Watson (three-times winner), Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch (twice each) while no prize was presented in 2016 due to a paucity of international T20 matches.
But Warner finally etched his name on the honour board by polling 19 votes from the six matches he played during the 12-month voting period, to finish in front of Maxwell (16 votes), and seamer Kane Richardson who tied with former skipper Steve Smith for third place on eight votes.
Warner had finished the voting period with 287 runs at an extraordinary average of 287, having only been dismissed the once, with a high score of 100 not out against Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval earlier in the current home summer.
It was his dominance of the Sri Lanka and Pakistan bowlers during the pair of three-match T20I series in October and November last year that saw him top the votes tally despite playing two fewer matches than his opening partner Aaron Finch.
In his return to T20 cricket after serving his year-long ban, Warner reeled off scores of 100no, 60no, 57no, 2no (in a rain-affected match), 20 and 48no as Australia's men's team began their dominant home summer with an undefeated run through the T20 campaign.
But of greater importance was the impetus it provided for Warner who, by his own admission, had endured a wretched Ashes campaign in England but returned to his peerless best for the Australia summer.
On the back of his T20 dominance, Warner then produced a century in his first Test innings back on home soil (against Pakistan at Brisbane) before completing a record-breaking innings of 335 not out in the next encounter with the same opponents at Adelaide Oval.
Male T20 Player of the Year
David Warner: 19 votes
Glenn Maxwell: 16
Kane Richardson, Steve Smith: 8