Five Bizarre Player of the Match/Series Awards in Cricket

Records highlight a cricketer’s exceptional achievements and contribute to their legacy. Breaking or setting records showcases a player’s skill, dedication, and talent, leading to recognition and respect among fans, fellow players, and cricket enthusiasts. The achievements allow fans and experts to compare players from different eras. Statistics and records help evaluate a cricketer’s performance against their contemporaries and predecessors, facilitating discussions and debates about who was the best in different aspects of the game.

In every match or series or even an ICC tournament, these records help a cricketer to win awards like man of the match or man of the series. In this article, we have compiled a list of awards that are hard to understand.

1) Sherfane Rutherford’s Half-Acre of American Dreams

Sherfane Rutherford gained recognition primarily through his performances in various T20 leagues around the world. He made his debut for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and had successful stints in the T20 leagues of various countries, including the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

In the recently held Global T20 Canada, Sherfane Rutherford displayed his aggressive quality of cricket while playing for Montreal Tigers and became the man of the series. In return, he was declared the man of the series and got half an acre of American land as his prize. This is one of the most bizarre prices a cricketer can ever get.

2) Wrestling Belts Make Their Way to the Pitch

The International League T20 (ILT20) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in the United Arab Emirates. The league was founded in 2022 and is sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). The inaugural season of the ILT20 took place from January 13 to February 12, 2023, with six teams competing. 

Since the first season, UAE has targeted the Indian Premier League as their primary competition, and like IPL’s Orange Cap, Purple Cap – the ILT T20 has also introduced Green Belt, and eminent bowlers, a White Belt as the prices for the individual players.

3) Luke Wright’s Culinary Prize: A Rice Cooker

English all-rounder Luke Wright was awarded a rice cooker for his man-of-the-match performance in a league fixture in the Dhaka Premier League in Bangladesh. The fact that the number of sponsors in the competition was less, the organizers had to think out of the box for the man of the match awards, and they came up with this. 

The price was sponsored by a local electronics giant “Walton”. The Dhaka Premier League is a domestic cricket competition in Bangladesh. It is played between teams from the Dhaka metropolitan area. The league is sponsored by several companies, including a rice cooker brand.

4) Fishy Rewards in Kashmir’s Cricket Scene

In a local cricket tournament at Tekipora Kupwara, Kashmir, a 2.5 kg fish was given the Man of the Match award. The award was given to a player named Irfan Dar, who scored 94 runs and took 2 wickets in the match. The organizers of the tournament said that they decided to give a fish as the Man of the Match award to highlight the poor condition of the playground. 

They said that the players had to contribute from their own pockets to make the playground playable. They also said that they wanted to show that even a fish can be a valuable prize.

5) Jhye Richardson’s Modest Win Against India

The list won’t be getting completed if a bizarre award is not mentioned in international cricket. Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson was awarded a bat grip and shoelaces as the Man of the Match award in the first ODI against India in Sydney in 2018. Richardson took 4 wickets for 26 runs in his 10 overs to help Australia to a 34-run win.

The bat grip and shoelaces were awarded by Isa Guha, the on-field commentator for the match. Guha said that she had decided to give Richardson the unusual award because she wanted to “highlight the importance of small things in cricket.”