Klinger and Hastings take out awards

Michael Klinger and John Hastings, two players who switched states to gain greater opportunities, have been rewarded for their post-move success at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne. The South Australia batsman Klinger was named the State Cricketer of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Hastings received the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award having established himself as a key man in Victoria's line-up.

Klinger scored 36 votes and beat the Victoria pair of Chris Rogers (29) and Brad Hodge (27) for the state title. During the voting period, which ran from December 24, 2008 to February 1, 2010, Klinger scored 1532 runs at 56.74 across all formats. He was the leading Sheffield Shield run scorer last season and is again near the top this summer.

The two consecutive prizes for Klinger have justified his decision to leave Victoria during the 2008 off-season, at which time he had made 1569 first-class runs at 27.05. His tally is now 3504 runs at 41.22 and the two strong years must have him firmly in the minds of the Australian selectors.

Another state-switching success story was Hastings, the Victoria allrounder, who moved from New South Wales at the end of 2006-07. Hastings, 24, decided that his opportunities were likely to be greater with the Bushrangers than in a Blues line-up where he would compete with Moises Henriques as the preferred young allrounder.

Hastings finished with 46 votes, well clear of the New South Wales allrounder Steven Smith on 30 and the Queensland fast bowler Ben Cutting (8). Hastings has played every Sheffield Shield match for the Bushrangers this season and is second on the competition wicket tally with 25 victims at 25.12, and he has been a valuable player in the shorter formats as well.

"It seems a long while ago now," Hastings said of his move south. "Three years ago [Victoria coaches] Greg Shipperd and Simon Helmot gave me a call and said do you want to come down to Victoria and see if you can try your luck down here and it's been brilliant. I feel like I'm a lot stronger and a lot fitter than I was last year."

Across all formats during the voting period, Hastings scored 324 runs at 29.45 and took 49 wickets at 22.77 in 17 matches. He joins a list of Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year winners featuring elite names such as Brett Lee, who won the inaugural prize in 2000, Nathan Bracken, Shane Watson and Ben Hilfenhaus.

The Women's International Cricketer of the Year was Shelley Nitschke, who claimed her second title having also won last year. Nitschke (71 votes) scored a narrow win from Lisa Sthalkear (64), having made 631 runs at 35.05 in 18 ODIs during the voting period and collecting 17 wickets at 29.47.