In a cricket match, every player wants to perform to win the game for their team. After the match, the match officials decide who the Man of the match is. Generally, the Man of the Match is given to the player who scored match-winning runs or bowled a match-winning spell. Today, fielders or batters with cameo innings also get the man-of-the-match awards. But there are some Unusual Man of the Match Awards in Cricket.
1. No Wickets, No Run Award
Cameron Cuffy is a former right-arm fast-bowler of West Indies. During the 90s, Cameron Cuffy was one of the leading fast bowlers in the West Indies. But in a match against Zimbabwe in 2001, he got the Man of the Match award without doing anything. In this match, Cameron Cuffy took no wickets, no catches, and scored no runs, and despite that, he got the Man of the Match award. In this match, Cameron Cuffy bowled ten overs and gave only 20 runs with an economy of 2.
2. The Whole Team Got An Award
It is one of the rarest incidents that took place in the cricket. There are only three times that the Whole team got the Man of the Match award. One of the incidents came in 1996 when Pakistan played against England. England got all out in this match at 246 runs, and Pakistan chased a target with two balls remaining. This match had many good performances, as Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram, and Ijaz Ahmed played the most crucial roles. However, the match official awarded the Man of the Match award to the Pakistani team for their combined efforts on the field without giving the Award to any single player.
3. Award For Fielding
There are sporadic incidents where the player got the Man of the Award for his fielding. In the Champions Trophy match between Pakistan and West Indies in 1986, Pakistan set a target of 144 runs. West Indies quickly chased the target in the 33rd over. From West Indie's side, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes scored match-winning half-centuries, but Gus Logie got the Award. In this match, Gus Logie took three crucial catches and one runout, for which he was called the Man of the Match award.
4. Fan Vote For Award
In 2011, New Zealand toured Australia. In a 2nd match at Hobart, Australia won the toss and chose to field first, scoring only 150 in 1st innings. New Zealand scored only 136 in 2nd innings, and in the end, New Zealand won the thriller match by seven runs. After winning the game, everybody was sure Dough Bracewell would get an award for his excellent bowling performance. However, the fans' vote decided on the Man of the Match, and they picked David Warner as Man of the Game. This created controversies, and after this incident, Cricket Australia returned to traditionally giving Man of the Match.
5. Two Wickets Over A Century
It happened in a match between India and Sri Lanka in 1999. It was the 6th match, and Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first. From India, Sachin Tendulkar scored an impeccable innings of 120 runs, and Sri Lanka got a target of 297 runs. Sri Lanka got a good start but started losing wickets regularly. In the end, India won the match by 23 runs. It was certain that Sachin would get the Award for his incredible century. But Robin Singh turned out to be the Man of the game as he took two wickets.
6. Groundsmen Won The Award
In the year 2000, New Zealand toured South Africa. In the 3rd test at Johannesburg, South Africa won the toss and decided to field first. In the 1st innings, New Zealand scored 200 runs. South Africa scored 261 runs, and the match was drawn as only 190.5 overs were bowled in this match. Because of heavy rain, there was a regular activity for groundskeepers on the ground. As the game was drawn and for the constant efforts of the groundskeepers, the Groundsmen got the Man of the Award.
7. Man Of The One-match Series
In 2017, Zimbabwe toured Sri Lanka. In the only test between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka quickly chased the target because of Asela Gunaratne's 80 runs. In this match, Asela Gunaratne was the Man of the game. But it was also decided by the match officials that there should also be one Man of the Series award. Rangana Herath, who took 11 wickets in this test match, got the Man of the Match award for his match-winning bowling. Strangely, there were different men of the match and series recipients for only one match.
8. Award For Captaincy
There are only two incidents in cricket history where a captain got the Man of the Match award for boosting the team's morale. In the 3rd ODI played between India and Pakistan in 2013, India won the toss and decided to bat first. With Suresh Raina's and MS Dhoni's contributions, India set a target of 167 runs. When Pakistan came to bat, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took five wickets together, and India won the match by ten runs. However, MS Dhoni got the Man of the Match for his excellent captaincy and for boosting his team's morale.
9. Super Sub Got An Award
In 2005, ICC introduced a Super Sub-rule in ODIst, allowing teams to present their 12th Man. Later, in March 2006, the ICC scrapped this rule as it gave an unfair advantage to the team that used to win the toss. In a match between India and New Zealand in 2005, New Zealand scored 215 runs, where McMillan scored 54 and McCullum scored 49. When India came to bat, New Zealand replaced Nathan Astle with Shane Bond. This strategy helped New Zealand as Shane Bond took six wickets, and India lost the match by 51 runs.
10. Substitute Fielder Got An Award
It was the 4th match between South Africa and West Indies in the 1993 Hero Cup. South Africa lost the toss and bat first; they set a target of 181 runs. West Indies got all out at only 139 runs and lost the match by 41 runs. In this match, Jonty Rhodes took five catches, and by his brilliant fielding, West Indies could not take singles and doubles. Jonty Rhodes got the Man of the Match award for exceptional fielding.
