Sausage sizzle: Healy slams lacklustre Allan Border Medal night

Australian cricket great Ian Healy has joined the chorus of those lambasting the 2026 Allan Border Medal.

Historically celebrated as a grand, televised black-tie gala night at Crown Melbourne's Palladium in February, this year's event was instead held in a Brisbane function room ahead of Australia's top-end Test series against Bangladesh in August.

It's the second straight year where the medal has been presented in less than ideal circumstances, with the men's team overseas in Sri Lanka last February as the women attended the gala event.

According to Cricket Australia, the gala event was scrapped entirely in 2026 due to scheduling difficulties for both the men and women.

While it should have been a momentous night as Travis Head became just the fifth player to win back-to-back medals, many have slammed the lacklustre prestige surrounding the awards night.

Healy pointed out what he thinks Cricket Australia have to do to bring the night back to the fore, urging the governing body to do better.

"It (the night) had good reason and justification to get hammered socially," Healy told SENQ Breakfast.

"To me, it lacked tradition in all formats. It needed a really strong video presentation of all sorts of eras that have gone before. It needed a strong reverence to Allan Border.

"I know for a fact that the current players just love the work of Allan Border and what he's done in the game.

"From becoming a legend player, to becoming an unwilling captain, to becoming a great captain, to being a selector, to being a board director. He's done a lot, and most of it as a volunteer. So, that reverence for AB was lacking.

"At a time when the NRL are considering leasing aircraft and hosting global rounds. We're putting on a sausage sizzle on a Friday night. That's not good enough.

"I don't care how short the night was and was going to be, it needed to be polished and very, very schmick.

"Australian cricket, you've got to get your act together."

Border himself also would like to see the awards night return to its former glory.

“It does seem a bit odd to be in the middle of winter, and there’s been no cricket really played, and everyone’s sort of forgotten about who’s done what. Trying to pick the winner will be a bit harder than normal,” Border told Code Sports.

“But yeah, look, it is what it is. I think the players still rate the fact that it’s a great honour for them to win that medal. So whenever it’s held, it’s highly regarded by the players, and that’s important.

“But I’d like to see it go back to a traditional time and traditional sort of ceremony, where the girls are there.

“It’s a big event down at the Crown Casino at the end of the season, have the big awards night, and then they get on with the winter programs.”