Shane Watson's fairytale comeback to international cricket has been capped off with his first Allan Border Medal.

Watson, who has fought back from a variety of back, shoulder, hamstring and calf injuries which threatened to end his career prematurely won the award which honours Australia's best player over the past year in all forms of the game as voted by players, media and umpires.

The 28-year-old was also named Australia's one-day international Player of the Year while Simon Katich took out the Test Player of the Year award.

In what represented a changing of the guard in Australian cricket, all three awards have been won by first-time winners.

But the night belonged to Watson who cemented his spot at the top of the Test team batting order, following his recovery from another bout of back stress fractures, after being brought in as an opener at the expense of youngster Phil Hughes midway through last year's Ashes series.

Watson, who only managed eight Test matches in four years prior to the 2009 Ashes series, was thrown in the deep end with his country trailing England 1-0.

However, he took his opportunity with both hands as he proceeded to hit seven fifties and a maiden century from his next 14 Test innings to become a mainstay in the Australian Test team.

"It's been an awesome ride and it's very overwhelming actually to receive this award," Watson said fighting back tears.

"For me this summer has been something I have only ever dreamed of.

"To get the opportunity that I did during the Ashes was something I looked forward to, to put my hand up and put in some good performances and to be able to continue that through this summer has been something as I said I have only ever dreamed of.

"Obviously it is an amazing honour to win the Allan Border Medal but to be able to turn my fortunes around a little bit over the last six to eight months is something I have found very satisfying."

Watson was made to earn his first Test ton, though, after being dismissed three times for scores ranging from 89 to 96 in what was his first completed Australian summer.

And after being dropped on 99 in the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, he finally cracked triple digits and registered his highest score of 120 not out.

But before the season ended he would be made to lament another missed opportunity at a century when he was out for 97 at the SCG in January.

Watson ended up with 849 Test runs at 56.60 and claimed 13 wickets at 29.62 during the voting period of 6 February 2009 to 12 February 2010.

And in one-day internationals, the all-rounder racked up 1258 runs at 41.93, which featured three centuries and six half-centuries, and took 37 wickets at 21.30 including figures of four for 36 against Pakistan late last month in Brisbane.

Watson (125 votes) won the Allan Border Medal by a comfortable 35-vote margin thanks largely to being adjudged man of the match by the players on nine occasions while the media/umpires did so eight times.

Unsurprisingly, he was voted the country's best cricketer by both the players (57 votes) and the media/umpires (68).

Vice-captain Michael Clarke finished second with 90 votes and reigning ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson (87) rounded out the top three.

Meanwhile, Watson took out the ODI Player of the Year - which, like the Test Player of the Year, is decided by the players only - with 33 votes, eight ahead of second-placed Michael Hussey (25) and 12 ahead of Clarke (21) who finished third.

Interestingly, Katich wasn't awarded one three-vote match on his way to claiming the Test Player of Year award - typifying the dogged opener's no-frills manner.

Katich pillaged 1114 runs at 48.43 in the voting period including seven fifties and three tons but he would be ruing the fact that three of those half-centuries ended in the 90s this summer.

He also took eight wickets at 17.25.

The 34-year-old finished on 11 votes, one ahead of Johnson (10) and two ahead of Clarke (nine) and Watson (nine) who finished tied on third.