Bushies Win Top Awards

[pies4ever]

Vics sweep awards
By Michael Horan
March 11, 2004

VICTORIA landed the big double at the Cricket Australia awards when Matthew Elliott won the Pura Cup Payer of the Year trophy and Brad Hodge took out the ING Cup Player of the Year.

Elliott's 21 votes beat teammate David Hussey (1, with retiring Queensland star Stuart Law finishing third with 15 votes.

Elliott also polled 21 votes in the ING Cup count, just one short of Hodge and five ahead of West Australian Michael Hussey.

The wins proved a cash windfall for the Victorian pair, Elliott collecting $8000 and Hodge a $5000 investment account from ING.

Elliott's amazing season has so far amassed 1183 Pura Cup runs at an average of 65.72, and should he manage a century in the final he would join Queenslander Matthew Hayden as the only men to have scored seven centuries in a season.

Elliott, who also won the award in 1995-96 and 1998-99, is the first player to claim it three times.

"I haven't really set the world on fire in the last couple of years, I just really wanted to get back into the swing of it and enjoy playing," Elliott said on receiving the award.

"I must thank my teammates and the people involved in Victorian cricket this year. They've really helped me find my love of the game again."

Elliott said the highlight for him had nothing to do with his own batting, but rather teammate David Hussey's unbeaten 212 against New South Wales in Newcastle when Victoria chased down an astonishing 452 on the final day to win.

"To witness the sort of batting David put on that day was fantastic, something I'll never forget," Elliott said.

Hodge now has trophies in both forms of the game, having won the Pura Cup Player of the Year in 2001-02.

In this year's domestic one-day competition he clubbed 540 runs at an average of 77.14, from just nine games.

It became a clean-sweep when Victorian captain Belinda Clark was voted the Women's National Cricket League Player of the Year. The inaugural Australian umpire of the year award was won by Simon Taufel, who last night flew out of Australia to Pakistan, where he will stand in the three-Test series against India.

The inaugural Benaud Spirit of Cricket award - selected by umpires on the conduct of all members of each state team - was won by South Australia.


cheers bryan..!!

[Donny]

Fantastic result for Huss. Only 3 votes behind Elliott as Pura Cup cricketer of the year.