Top 5 Weird Man of the Match/Series awards in cricket

The Man of the Match or Series award is the highest prestigious honour for any athlete participating in a team sport. While every player's primary ambition is to ensure that their side wins, every player harbours a secret yearning to be named Man of the Match. Typically, a monetary prize and a trophy are presented to the player who makes the most difference in the match.

However, because cricket is now played at many levels, there have been several unique Man of the Match honours in cricket history. Furthermore, the appearance of sponsorship in the sport has actually transformed the quality of how the gentleman's game is played. We now see expensive automobiles and massive cash rewards being awarded.

Here are the 5 most unusual or weird Man of the Match/Series awards in cricket

5. 2.5 Kg Fish

(Source- Twitter)

This list includes a cricket match from Kashmir. The organisers offered a special Man of the Match award to a player in order to popularise the league. The turf was unplayable, and participants were required to donate money to improve the surface.

As a result, in order to attract the attention of the authorities, they presented the Man of the Match award-winning player with a 2.5 kilogramme fish. This is not the first time a cricketer has received an unusual Man of the Match award.

4. Rice Cooker in the Dhaka Premier League

(Source- Twitter)

The former England captain Eoin Morgan is regarded as a valuable limited-overs batter due to his ability to hit massive sixes under pressure. He played a match-winning knock in the Dhaka Premier League in 2013. For his performance, the southpaw was awarded Player of the Match.

The award, though, was a rice cooker. Morgan mistook the cooker to be a metaphorical representation of his 'under pressure' knock. However, he later found out that one of the sponsors was the rice cooker company.

3. Sunshine snacks in the Caribbean Premier League

(Source- Twitter)

Sunshine Snacks is one of the Caribbean Premier League's numerous prominent sponsors. Customers of snack companies are offered nuts and chips, and Man of the Matches has taken the same path. The sponsor handed the players who won player of the match honours a snack basket, which was amusing since, given the fitness level necessary for the game these days, they couldn't consume fatty snacks. Social media users shared photos of players receiving food packages. In an eliminator match, New Zealand batsman Anton Devcich was awarded “sunshine snacks” for his 50 off 23 balls.

2. Bat grip and shoe laces

(Source- Twitter)

Jhye Richardson's 4-26 spell was crucial in Australia's 34-run triumph against India in the first ODI of the series on January 12, 2019, and the young pacer was awarded Player of the Match.

However, while players who win that accolade are normally given a financial prize. Richardson's prize left a lot to be desired. The prize money was donated to charity in a lovely gesture, but the alternative award given to Richardson a bat grip and some shoe laces.

1. Half Acre Land in USA, GT20 Canada

(Source- Twitter)

After being selected Player of the Tournament in the Global T20 Canada 2023, Sherfane Rutherford was recently handed a half-acre parcel of property in the United States of America. The Montreal Tigers won the league with a five-wicket victory over the Surrey Jaguars in the final, and Rutherford was awarded both Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament.

With 220 runs from eight innings at an average of 44 and one half-century to his record, the 24-year-old concluded the T20 event as the tournament's second-highest run scorer. The West Indian hitter, on the other hand, was taken aback when he was presented with a half-acre plot of land as the reward for being selected as the Player of the Tournament.