Sydney, Feb 27: Australian cricketing great Allan Border has said he would expect either Michael Clarke or Michael Hussey to win the coveted Allan Border Medal, which is presented to the best Australian player of the past season. Border feels the race to be crowned, as Australia's cricketer of the year on Monday night is wide open. "It''s probably a more wide open 12 months than we''ve had in the past due to injury and new blokes coming onto the block and hitting the ground running," Fox News quoted Border, as saying. "You look at James Pattinson, and think, ''he''s been fantastic''.

But has he played enough games? David Warner hasn''t played enough," he said. "It''s probably going to come down to Michael Clarke or Michael Hussey. Hussey will be hard to beat, and Clarke as well, given how Test matches are weighted compared to the one-dayers and Twenty20s," he added. He singled out Michael Clarke''s captaincy as a major player in Australia''s dramatic reverse in fortunes since their humiliating loss to England 12 months ago. Border believes Clarke's first year, as captain of the team has been the biggest positive of the past 12 months.

"He had a lot of doubters about how he''d go and his acceptance by the public and the team generally," "He''s really taken the job by the scruff of the neck and has done a fantastic job. He''s stamped his own personality and authority onto that role, and, to me, that has been one of the big positives (of the year)," he added. "Yes, the results that come with it help you formulate those ideas. But you''ve got to give him some credit," he added. (ANI)