Usman Khawaja has won the inaugural Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year award following a superb 12 months in Australian whites.
Since returning to the Test side in January last year, Khawaja has been Australia’s leading run-scorer in the five-day format, accumulating 1020 runs at 78.46 during the voting period.
The Queenslander was unstoppable in Pakistan, his country of birth, registering scores of 97, 160, 44 not out, 92 and 104 not out during the historic tour.
He capped off the voting period with an unbeaten 195 during the rain-affected New Year’s Test against South Africa at the SCG – his third consecutive Test century at the venue.
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Last week, Khawaja was named in the ICC Test Team of the Year alongside Australian teammates Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne.
“It would be nice (to win the award), but I think it’s nicer for my wife, my family,” he told reporters before the ceremony.
“It’s still a very humbling award, but we don’t play these games to win an Allan Border Medal or to win Test Cricketer of the Year. We play these games to help Australia win cricket games, become world No. 1, win the World Test Championship; those are the goals.
“All these sort of things around it, they’re bonuses on top of it. They’re more so credit to the guys and the girls and everyone who’s helped you around the game to get to that point.
“I always feel they’re less for the players and more for all the support staff, the families.”
Shane Warne Test Player of the Year
2000 – Glenn McGrath
2001 – Colin Miller
2002 – Matthew Hayden
2003 – Ricky Ponting
2004 – Ricky Ponting
2005 – Damien Martyn
2006 – Shane Warne
2007 – Ricky Ponting
2008 – Brett lee
2009 – Michael Clarke
2010 – Simon Katich
2011 – Shane Watson
2012 – Michael Clarke
2013 – Michael Clarke
2014 – Michael Clarke
2015 – Steve Smith
2016 – David Warner
2017 – Mitchell Starc
2018 – Steve Smith
2019 – Nathan Lyon
2020 – Marnus Labuschagne
2021 – Pat Cummins
2022 – Travis Head
2023 – Usman Khawaja
