Australia captain Steve Smith wins second Allan Border Medal

Sydney, Feb 12: Steve Smith has been awarded the Allan Border Medal for the second time in his career.

Australia captain Smith, who first claimed the accolade in 2015, was a comfortable winner, his 246 votes easily outstripping runner-up David Warner (162) and Nathan Lyon (156) in third.

The 28-year-old, who skippered his team to a 4-0 Ashes victory over England and averaged 67.64 across all formats, was also named Test player of the year at a ceremony in Melbourne.

Smith was proud to be recognised for his efforts over the past season and believes a tougher mentality has been key to his achievements.

"I don't play for these kinds of awards, I play to try to help the team win and stand up – particularly as the leader of the side," he said at a media conference.

Australia captain @stevesmith49 has won the Allan Border Medal for the second time after a fantastic year in which he scored 1754 runs at an average of 67.46 across all formats! pic.twitter.com/ey1RIW8qlm
— ICC (@ICC) February 12, 2018

"It's been challenging and I'm proud of the way I've accomplished a few things; scoring a second-innings hundred in India against some quality spinners gave me incredible confidence to know that I can do that against anyone, and the determination of a few innings, particularly in the Ashes in Brisbane and in Melbourne – just the resilience I showed was really pleasing."

On the key to that resilience, he added: "It's just keeping my mind in a really good place. Whenever I feel like my mind is going off the job I quickly recognise it and get myself back into where it needs to be and it's just about doing that over and over again for long periods of time. That's the most pleasing thing for me, that I have been able to do it.

"My mind's gone to another level and hopefully it can keep going that way and I can keep getting better as well."

Warner was named ODI Player of the Year, while Aaron Finch picked up the award for the Twenty20 format.

All-rounder Ellyse Perry, who scored a double-hundred and took three wickets in the women's Ashes draw against England, won the Belinda Clark Award for the second time.

Congratulations to @EllysePerry on winning the Belinda Clark Award for Australia's Women's Cricketer of the Year for the second time! pic.twitter.com/ls7jinZVWX
— ICC (@ICC) February 12, 2018