More accolades for Lehmann with Hampden Medal win

Darren Lehmann's status as Australian domestic cricket's finest player received further endorsement last night when he was named winner of the prestigious Lord Hampden Medal at South Australian cricket's night of nights in Adelaide.

Lehmann's fifth victory in the award, which recognises the Redbacks' best player of the interstate season, follows his successes earlier in the summer in being named as the national ING Cup Player of the Series and earning his third consecutive mantle as State Cricketer of the Year. The 2001-02 season was also the platform for the South Australian captain to surpass Jamie Siddons as the highest run-scorer in the history of interstate first-class competition in Australia.

Call-ups for Australia's Test and limited-overs tours of South Africa prevented Lehmann from playing in the closing matches of the domestic summer but he was still a clear winner of the Redbacks' major individual award.

The 32-year-old left hander hammered out 772 Pura Cup runs at an average of 64.33 for the season, backing them with 374 one-day runs at 62.33 and the typically explosive strike rate of 82.01.

Lehmann's deputy, Greg Blewett, won the team's major batting awards at both first-class and one-day level, clinching the Sir James Irwin Memorial Trophy with his 1025 runs at 56.94 in the four-day arena.

Pace bowlers Paul Rofe and Mark Harrity were also among the night's big winners, sharing three trophies between them at the end of a season in which injuries and international selections unexpectedly left each of them shouldering the responsibility of leading the Redbacks' attack.

Rofe, 21, complemented the Walter Bridgeland Trophy as the state's leading wicket-taker of the first-class season with the Adelaide Bowling Club award as South Australia's most improved player.

Harrity was meanwhile honoured as his team's best bowler at ING Cup level with his haul of 17 wickets at the miserly average of 19.76.