Khawaja and Copeland win state awards

Brydon Coverdale

	Usman Khawaja was rewarded for an excellent year for New South Wales © Getty Images Enlarge

Usman Khawaja has capped off a summer in which he made his Test debut by being named the State Player of the Year at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne. And Khawaja's New South Wales team-mate Trent Copeland joined him in having reason to celebrate after he was voted the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, barely 12 months since he made his state debut.

Khawaja might not play too many matches for the Blues next season, if he establishes himself in the Test line-up, but he was a clear winner this season with 35 votes, ahead of the Victoria allrounder Andrew McDonald on 12. Victoria's wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and the Queensland fast bowler Chris Swan tied for third with 11 votes each.

It meant a runaway victory for Khawaja, 24, who won his first baggy green last month at the SCG, when he replaced the injured captain Ricky Ponting at No. 3 for the final Ashes Test. His domestic highlight during the voting period, which began on February 14 last year, was without doubt his career-best 214 against South Australia in the opening round of the Sheffield Shield in October.

Khawaja's win ended the successful run of the South Australia captain Michael Klinger, who had won the title back-to-back over the past two years. It also meant an award double for New South Wales, with the fast bowler Copeland having picked up 44 votes to beat the Queensland batsman Chris Lynn (27) and the Victoria batsman Aaron Finch (15) for the young player prize.

Copeland, 24, barely scraped in to the age-group - to be eligible for the honour, players must be aged 23 or under at the start of the voting period, at which point they must also have played no more than 10 first-class games. Copeland has been a standout performer for the Blues since debuting last January, and he raced to 50 wickets in the first innings of his eighth first-class match.

He has followed a long list of stars in winning the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year title, and all 11 men who have preceded him have now played for Australia. The first winner was Brett Lee in 2000, and Shane Watson, Nathan Hauritz, Shaun Tait and Ben Hilfenhaus have all had their names etched on to the trophy.

The Women's International Player of the Year was Shelley Nitschke, who collected the award for the third consecutive year. The allrounder Nitschke, 34, has had a tremendous 12 months, having been named as the ICC Women's Player of the Year in 2010.

She scored 760 runs in 26 matches during the voting period at an average of 30.40, and also picked up 34 wickets at 17.68. Nitschke finished on 76 votes, well clear of Lisa Sthalekar on 50 and the young allrounder Ellyse Perry, who received 40 votes.