MELBOURNE (AFP)
Matthew Hayden was rewarded for an amazing year when he won the Allan Border Medal for Australia's top cricketer.

Hayden polled 61 votes to finish ahead of Shane Warne on 54 and Adam Gilchrist on 51.

Hayden also cleaned up the Test-player award for the first time, and his consistency in the five-day format proved decisive in the overall award voting.

Hayden's international career looked to be over in the late 1990s but he flourished after earning a recall early in 2000. He reached great heights on Australia's tour of India, scoring 549 runs in three Tests, including a career-best 203 at Chennai.

He scored 1509 runs in Australia's 14 Tests during the voting period, scoring at an average of 71.86 and polled 18 votes in the Test award, well clear of Warne on 13 and Gilchrist on eight.

Hayden scored more runs than any other Test cricketer in 2001 and his 1391-run total was the third-best ever in a calendar year. His career average now stands at 47.56.

His outstanding Test record made him a favourite for the Border Medal, even though he played in only 10 of Australia's 19 one-dayers during the voting period.

Ricky Ponting won his first one-day cricketer of the year award. Ponting, who scored 689 runs in 17 matches, at an average of 45.93 and a strike rate of 87.33, polled 17 votes.

Wicketkeeper Gilchrist and paceman Glenn McGrath were equal-second on 13 votes, while one-day specialist Michael Bevan was next on 12.

McGrath was ineligible for the one-day award and the Border Medal because of his suspension last month in the limited-overs series against New Zealand and South Africa.

The awards were for the top Australian players in the two forms of international cricket, and took account of performances in Australia's tours of India and England, and their home series against New Zealand and South Africa.

South Australian captain Darren Lehmann was named the top State player for the third-straight year, and Shane Watson, who will tour South Africa along with Lehmann later this month, won the Bradman Young Cricketer award.

Former Australian captain Greg Chappell and Test batsman Stan McCabe were inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd