Player of the Match awards (cricket)
In sport of cricket, a Man of the Match or Player of the match and Player of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a player from either team, usually the winning team.
In cricket, the man of the match award became a regular feature in Test matches in the mid 1980s.[1] The man of the match title is usually awarded to the player whose contribution is seen as the most critical in winning the game. However, there have been many instances when the performance of the losing team's player has earned him the award. Test cricket has witnessed rare instances when a joint award for man of the match or man of the series has been announced. However, in ODIs and Twenty20 this phenomenon is usually seen when the member of the losing team is the highest scorer, such as when Charles Coventry (194) and Tamim Iqbal (154) shared the award when Zimbabwe lost the match. In another interesting match held on 3 April 1996, the whole team from New Zealand was awarded the Men of the Match award. It was the first and only (till 2015) instance when a whole team was awarded it.[2]
In Test matches, Jacques Kallis holds the record for the highest number of awards won, with 23 in 166 matches played, which is then followed by Muttiah Muralitharan with 19 awards.[1]
In ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the highest number of man of the match titles, with 62 awards in 463 matches played.[3] Tendulkar is followed by Sanath Jayasuriya, who, along with Ricky Ponting, also holds the record for the maximum number of Man of the Match titles as captain.[4]
In Twenty20 Internationals, Shahid Afridi top ranked with 10 awards, followed by Shane Watson with 9 awards.[5][6]
The following tables are about the players with most Player of the Match awards and Player of the Series awards in all formats of the game.
Test Cricket
Most Player-of-the Match Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Matches | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Jacques Kallis  South Africa | 166 | 1995-2013 |
| 19 | Muttiah Muralitharan  Sri Lanka | 133 | 1992-2010 |
| 17 | Wasim Akram  Pakistan | 104 | 1985-2002 |
| 17 | Shane Warne  Australia | 145 | 1992-2007 |
| 16 | Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka | 134 | 2000-2015 |
| 16 | Ricky Ponting Australia | 168 | 1995-2012 |
| 14 | Curtley Ambrose  West Indies | 98 | 1988-2000 |
| 14 | Steve Waugh Australia | 168 | 1985-2004 |
| 14 | Sachin Tendulkar  India | 200 | 1989-2013 |
| 13 | Mahela Jayawardene Sri Lanka | 149 | 1997-2014 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[7] | |||
Most Player-of-the Series Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | No. of Series | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Muttiah Muralitharan Sri Lanka | 61 | 1992-2010 |
| 9 | Jacques Kallis South Africa | 61 | 1995-2013 |
| 8 | Imran Khan Pakistan | 28 | 1971-1992 |
| 8 | Richard Hadlee  New Zealand | 33 | 1973-1990 |
| 8 | Shane Warne Australia | 46 | 1992-2007 |
| 7 | Wasim Akram Pakistan | 43 | 1985-2002 |
| 7 | Shivnarine Chanderpaul West Indies | 60 | 1994-2015 |
| 6 | Malcolm Marshall West Indies | 21 | 1978-1991 |
| 6 | Curtley Ambrose West Indies | 27 | 1988-2000 |
| 6 | Steve Waugh Australia | 54 | 1985-2004 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[8] | |||
One Day International Cricket
Most Player-of-the Match Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Matches | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Sachin Tendulkar India | 463 | 1989-2012 |
| 48 | Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka | 445 | 1989-2011 |
| 32 | Jacques Kallis South Africa | 328 | 1996-2014 |
| 32 | Ricky Ponting Australia | 375 | 1995-2012 |
| 32 | Shahid Afridi Pakistan | 398 | 1996-2015 |
| 31 | Vivian Richards West Indies | 187 | 1975-1991 |
| 31 | Sourav Ganguly India | 311 | 1992-2007 |
| 31 | Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka | 404 | 2000-2015 |
| 30 | Brian Lara West Indies | 299 | 1990-2007 |
| 30 | Aravinda de Silva Sri Lanka | 308 | 1984-2003 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[9] | |||
Most Player-of-the Series Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | No. of Series | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Sachin Tendulkar India | 108 | 1989-2012 |
| 11 | Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka | 111 | 1989-2011 |
| 9 | Shaun Pollock South Africa | 60 | 1996-2008 |
| 7 | Hashim Amla South Africa | 38 | 2008-2016 |
| 7 | Vivian Richards West Indies | 40 | 1975-1991 |
| 7 | Chris Gayle West Indies | 64 | 1999-2015 |
| 7 | Yuvraj Singh India | 68 | 2000-2013 |
| 7 | Sourav Ganguly India | 75 | 1992-2007 |
| 7 | Ricky Ponting Australia | 77 | 1995-2012 |
| 6 | AB de Villiers South Africa | 54 | 2005-2016 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[10] | |||
Twenty20 International Cricket
Most Player-of-the Match Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Matches | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Shahid Afridi Pakistan | 90 | 2006-2016 |
| 9 | Shane Watson Australia | 52 | 2006-2016 |
| 8 | Mohammad Shahzad  Afghanistan | 38 | 2010-2016 |
| 8 | Chris Gayle West Indies | 45 | 2006-2015 |
| 8 | Mohammad Hafeez Pakistan | 71 | 2006-2016 |
| 7 | Yuvraj Singh India | 46 | 2007-2016 |
| 7 | Brendon McCullum New Zealand | 71 | 2005-2015 |
| 6 | Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka | 31 | 2006-2011 |
| 6 | Kevin Pietersen  England | 37 | 2005-2013 |
| 6 | Mahela Jayawardena Sri Lanka | 55 | 2006-2014 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[11] | |||
Most Player-of-the Series Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Series | Career |
|---|
Twenty20 Cricket
Most Player-of-the Match Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Matches | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Chris Gayle | 238 | 2005-2016 |
| 28 | Luke Wright | 244 | 2004-2016 |
| 26 | Brad Hodge | 253 | 2003-2016 |
| 25 | Azhar Mahmood | 224 | 2003-2016 |
| 25 | Dwayne Bravo | 283 | 2006-2016 |
| 23 | David Warner | 196 | 2007-2016 |
| 23 | Shoaib Malik | 223 | 2005-2016 |
| 22 | Shahid Afridi | 200 | 2004-2016 |
| 22 | Kieron Pollard | 299 | 2006-2015 |
| 21 | Michael Hussey | 150 | 2003-2016 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[12] | |||
Most Player-of-the Series Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Series | Career |
|---|
All International Formats
Most Player-of-the Match Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Matches | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | Sachin Tendulkar India | 664 | 14 | 62 | 0 |
| 58 | Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka | 586 | 4 | 48 | 6 |
| 57 | Jacques Kallis South Africa | 519 | 23 | 32 | 2 |
| 50 | Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka | 594 | 16 | 31 | 3 |
| 49 | Ricky Ponting Australia | 560 | 16 | 32 | 1 |
| 42 | Brian Lara West Indies | 430 | 12 | 30 | 0 |
| 42 | Shahid Afridi Pakistan | 515 | 0 | 32 | 10 |
| 41 | Vivian Richards West Indies | 308 | 10 | 31 | 0 |
| 41 | Aravinda de Silva Sri Lanka | 401 | 11 | 30 | 0 |
| 41 | Mahela Jayawardene Sri Lanka | 652 | 13 | 22 | 6 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[13] | |||||
Most Player-of-the Series Awards
| No. of Awards | Player | Series | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Sachin Tendulkar India | 183 | 5 | 15 | 0 |
| 15 | Jacques Kallis South Africa | 148 | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| 13 | Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka | 176 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 11 | Shaun Pollock South Africa | 107 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Chris Gayle West Indies | 123 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| 11 | Shivnarine Chanderpaul West Indies | 136 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | Ricky Ponting Australia | 147 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | Muttiah Muralitharan Sri Lanka | 155 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Imran Khan Pakistan | 74 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Hashim Amla South Africa | 87 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
|
Last updated: 14 February 2016[14] | |||||
References
- 1 2 "Records / Test matches / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) /Most player-of-the-match awards". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ↑ "4th ODI: West Indies v New Zealand at Georgetown, Apr 3, 1996 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ↑ "Records / One-Day Internationals / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) /Most player-of-the-match awards". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ↑ "Records / One-Day Internationals / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-match awards".
- ↑
- ↑ "Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) /Most player-of-the-match awards". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ↑ "Records / Test matches / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-match awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / Test matches / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-series awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / One-Day Internationals / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-match awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / One-Day Internationals / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-series awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-match awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / Twenty20 / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-match awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-match awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Most player-of-the-series awards". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2015.