Top 7 Weird Man of the Match or Series awards in cricket

There have been a lot of humorous events on the cricket field. Some weird catches, some weird celebrations, some weird outfits and several more. But there have also been some strange awards given to cricketers which made everyone laugh.

In modern-day cricket, the sport has enough resources to reward the protagonist of the game with some adequate prizes. Also, the sponsorship that has appeared in the sport has literally changed the standard of how the gentleman’s game is played. Now, we even see fancy cars and huge cash rewards being awarded to the performers.

But if we go down the memory lane, we find colour television sets being awarded to cricketers. Sachin Tendulkar received a champagne bottle in 1990 before he turned 18. Allan Donald received a jewellery box as a man of the tournament award in 1996. But such instances have almost vanished now. Still, we have found some unusual awards presented during the presentation ceremonies.

Let’s see the top six weird Man of the Match/ Series awards:

1 Electric Guitar in West Indies vs India T20I series 2023

West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran was awarded Electric Guitar for being adjudged Player of the Series in the five-match T20I series between West Indies and India in 2023. The southpaw finished as the highest run scorer of the series with 176 runs to his name from five innings at an average of 35.20 and a strike rate of 141.93. However, the swashbuckling batter couldn't be present to take the award as he had to leave to catch a flight. 

West Indies skipper Rovman Powell filled in for him collected the award on his behalf. Earlier in the series, Pooran scored a magnificent 67 (40) during the second T20I helping West Indies win the match by two wickets. He was also adjudged Player of the Match for his game-changing knock.

Further in the fifth T20I, the 27-year-old scored 47 (35) smashing one four and four sixes in his innings to guide West Indies to an eight-wicket win in the series decider. Courtesy of his explosive innings throughout the series, West Indies fans got something to cheer about in the gloomy phase of their cricketing history.

2. Half Acre Land in GT20 Canada 2023:

T20 and West Indies cricketers are synonymous with each other as several players from the nation have made a name for themselves plying their trade in the various T20 leagues in the world. One such cricketer is young batting sensation, Sherfane Rutherford who has put some remarkable performances in his short career.

Rutherford was recently awarded half-acre of land in the USA after winning the Player of the Tournament award in the Global T20 Canada 2023. Montreal Tigers were crowned the champions of the league by beating Surrey Jaguars by five wickets in the final and Rutherford was adjudged both Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament.

The 24-year-old finished as the second-highest run scorer of the T20 extravaganza scoring 220 runs from eight innings at an average of 44 with one half-century to his name. However, the West Indian batter was in for a surprise as he was handed half an acre of land as the prize for being adjudged Player of the Tournament. It would be interesting to see for what purpose Rutherford uses the awarded land in the years to come.