A NEW name appears likely to be added to the illustrious list of Allan Border Medal winners, with David Warner and Steve Smith battling it out for Australian cricket's top award.
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Smith and Warner have enjoyed stellar years with the bat and are the frontrunners to have their names read out at Tuesday night's ceremony in Sydney.
Both their stats make for remarkable reading - Smith compiled 1756 runs at an average of 67.54 during the voting period from January 14, 2014, to January 10 this year, while Warner made 1645 at 53.06.
They will have competition from last year's winner, Mitchell Johnson, who was the team's leading wicket-taker with 54 scalps, However, the batting pair are tipped to dominate voting.
Smith capped his year with a record-breaking performance against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on home soil, in which he piled on four centuries in as many Tests.
He made more runs than Warner and enjoyed a fruitful Australian summer, which included a memorable 192 against India in the Boxing Day Test.
His purple patch continued into the shorter form of the game, hitting two centuries in his last eight ODIs, including a match-winning ton against South Africa at the MCG when the game looked lost for Australia.
Smith will also be one of the frontrunners for one-day player of the year alongside Aaron Finch (647 runs at 43.13) and James Faulkner (14 wickets and 193 runs at 32.17).
Warner has come of age, maturing to shrug off his problem-child image and evolving to become one of the world's premier opening batsmen.
In 23 matches across all formats, he piled on six half-centuries and seven tons to become the anchor of the Australian team.
Finch could also find himself in line for his second successive Twenty20 player of the year award after topping the list with 390 runs from 13 innings at an average of 32.5 and a strike rate of 134.
There will be a tinge of sadness to the ceremony, with a tribute to Phillip Hughes.
Sean Abbott, who delivered the bouncer that felled Hughes, will be one of the leading contenders for the Bradman young cricketer of the year alongside fellow NSW paceman Gurinder Sandhu.
The domestic player of the year will come down to leading run-scorers Adam Voges and Callum Ferguson, along with Western Australian quick Jason Behrendorff, who has taken 64 wickets including a career-best 7-71 against Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match.
Meg Lanning appears to be a shoo-in for the Belinda Clarke award, having scored 1124 runs, nearly double that of her nearest teammate.
Meanwhile, Australia’s tri-series clash with India at the SCG has been washed out, leaving the visitors needing to beat England in their final pool match in Perth to qualify for the final.
After losing their first two ODIs of the tournament, India must win on Friday to qualify for the decider at the same venue two days later. England need only to avoid defeat.
India went into the Australia Day clash hoping to find form but Australia were on top when play was abandoned with India at 2-69 off 16 overs. -- AAP