Top 12 unique and unusual awards in cricket history

Cricket is the second most popular spectator sport after football. Over 150 years have gone by since the first ever international match was played and one witnessed several iconic moments that have been etched in the hearts of fans. Many legendary cricketers have stepped into the cricket field and blessed the international arena with their jaw-dropping displays. However, there have been some weird moments as well, which have created a lot of buzz and left the cricket fraternity scratching its head. At times we have seen players and teams being awarded strange trophies for their heroic display. Here are twelve unique awards in cricket history: 12. Half Acre Land in GT20 Canada 2023: GT20 Canada. (Photo Source: Twitter) 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. 11. Coca-Cola Cup 1998 India took the stage alongside Australia and New Zealand for the Coca-Cola Cup in 1998. After a six-match tussle, the Men in Blue and Steve Waugh & co. made their way through to the finals. In the summit clash, the Aussies batted first and posted 272 runs on the board. In response, Sachin Tendulkar navigated India’s run-chase to perfection. He kept the scoreboard ticking, milking singles, and scoring timely boundaries. The former Indian cricketer went on to plunder 134 runs off 131 balls. India’s skipper Mohammad Azharuddin complemented Sachin quite well and scored 58 runs off 64 balls. Eventually, the Men in Blue won the game by six wickets and clinched the Coca-Cola Cup. During the presentation ceremony, Azharuddin was handed a trophy, which seemingly looked like an enormous coca cola bottle cap. The trophy was one of a kind and caught many eyeballs. 10. A lawnmower handed to Makhaya Ntini in 2003 South Africa locked horns with Ireland in a tour match in June 2003 in Dublin. After electing to bat first, the Proteas posted 294 runs on the board with Graeme Smith, Boeta Dippenaar, and Jacques Rudolph smashing half-centuries. After a valiant effort from the Proteas batters, Makhaya Ntini led the way with the ball, He dismissed the trio of Jeremy Bray, Andre Botha, and Peter Gillespie. The former South African cricketer ended the game with figures 6-0-21-3. Courtesy of his stellar showing, Ireland were bundled out for 162 runs. Ntini was adjudged the Player of the Match for his incredible bowling display. Surprisingly, he was handed a lawnmower as an award for his excellent performance. However, Makhaya was not inclined towards taking the lawnmower to South Africa and exchanged it for some cash with the sponsors. 9. Trophy of DLF Cup 2006 Arch-rivals India and Pakistan took center stage for the two-match ODI series (called DLF Cup) in April 2002 in the United Arab Emirates. The revenue generated from the matches went to the welfare of the victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. In the first game of the series, the Men in Green stood tall and won the game by six wickets. Younis Khan was the chief architect of the win, smashing 71* runs off 96 deliveries. When the Asian heavyweights clashed for the second game, India defeated Pakistan by 51 runs and Rahul Dravid was the Player of the Match for his superb knock of 92 runs off 116 balls. With both sides, winning a game each, the series ended in a stalemate. DLF (Delhi Land & Finance), who were the sponsors of the series, lived up to their stature and designed a giant size trophy. Both captains Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq were seen holding the massive silverware at the presentation ceremony. 8. Luke Wright being awarded a blender Victoria Sporting Club clashed against Abahani Limited in the 2013 season of the Dhaka Premier Divison in Savar(3). Monir Hossain & co. batted first and posted 234 runs on the board courtesy of half-centuries from Soumya Sarkar and Abdullah Al Mamun. Luke Wright was the pick of the bowlers for Abahani picking up three wickets for 33 runs. Wright, after his sensational bowling display, showcased his batting might as well. The former England cricketer took the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and smashed 66 runs off 49 balls. His blistering knock helped Shahriar Nafees & co. win the game with 14 balls to spare. Wright was adjudged the Player of the Match for his superb all-round performance. However, to everyone’s surprise, the former England all-rounder was given a blender as the POTM prize. It was a unique moment and Luke also took to Twitter to showcase his peculiar award. 7. Eoin Morgan being awarded a rice cooker Gazi Tank Cricketers faced Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in Dhaka Premier Division 2013 in Mirpur. Eoin Morgan was in his elements and led Ghazi’s charge with the bat. He hammered the opposition’s bowlers all across the park and plundered 84 runs off 71 deliveries. Gazi skipper Mahmudullah too made a well-compiled half-century. Riding on magnificent knocks from the ace batters, Gazi Tank posted 295 on the board. Prime DSC in response, were bowled out for 235 runs. Ashar Zaidi was the wrecker-in-chief for Gazi picking up a four-wicket haul. Morgan was declared the Player of the Match for his exceptional batting performance. However, a weird moment took place as the former England cricketer was awarded a rice cooker for his match-winning innings. 6. Sunshine Snacks Voucher in Caribbean Premier League 2017 Caribbean Premier League is one of the most exciting T20 leagues in the world. The inaugural edition of CPL kickstarted in 2013 and there have been a total of 10 editions played thus far. It has given the West Indies cricket a new lease of life as it has helped them attract sponsors and earn money to help cricket in the country to move forward. One of the sponsors for the 2017 season of the T20 extravaganza was Sunshine Snacks. It was one of the leading snack manufacturers in the Caribbean. They coined a weird way to award players who hit the best shot of the match and handed snack hampers to the cricketers who received the award. The award was known as ‘Sunshine Snacks Power shot of the Day’. Many renowned names of the T20 circuit. Darren Bravo, Martin Guptill, Anton Devcich, and Kevon Cooper were recipients of the same and took home a basket full of snacks. 5. Jasprit Bumrah winning a mini truck India took the stage alongside Sri Lanka for a multi-format series on the latter’s turf in 2017. The action kickstarted with the longest format of the game, which the visitors comfortably won 3-0. Then the attention of the sides shifted to the five-match ODI series and it was again the Men in Blue who dictated terms, whitewashing the Lankan Lions. Virat Kohli was India’s leading run-scorer in the ODI leg, smashing 330 runs in five games at a strike rate of 111.86. On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah showed his class and wreaked havoc with the ball. He picked up 15 wickets in just five games at a stunning average of 11.27. It includes a sensational five-wicket haul in the third game of the series. The ace pacer was adjudged the Player of the Series for his spectacular bowling performances. But surprisingly, the POTS award turned out to be a mini-truck. MS Dhoni was seen taking his team members for a ride after Bumrah received the award. 4. TUC Biscuit Cup 2018 Pakistan hosted Australia for a multi-format series in 2018. The T20I leg of the tour was officially sponsored by TUC, a biscuit brand that originated in Belgium and belongs to a french company. The sponsor designed a trophy true to their name and it garnered a lot of the attention of the fans. Before the start of the T20I series, captains of both sides, Finch and Sarfaraz Ahmed posed with the biscuit-shaped Trophy, and the photos of the same were shared by Pakistan cricket on their Twitter handle. The pictures went viral and created a lot of buzz on the social media. The T20I series ended as a one-sided affair and the Men in Green trumped Australia by 3-0. Babar Azam was the leading run-getter of the series, scoring 163 runs in three games at a strike rate of 117.26. He was adjudged the Player of the Series for his stellar batting displays. 3. Jhye Richardson was awarded a bat grip and shoelaces Australia took on India for the first game of the three-match ODI series in January 2019 in Sydney. The hosts batted first and posted 288 runs on the board in 50 overs riding on half-centuries from Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, and Peter Handscomb. After an incredible showing by the Australian batters, Jhye Richardson brought his A-game into play and dismantled the star-studded Indian batting line-up. He got rid of Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, and Ravindra Jadeja and helped Aaron Finch & Co. script a 34-run victory. Richardson ended the game with impeccable bowling figures of 10-2-26-4 and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his outstanding performance. However, unexpectedly, the ace pacer was offered shoelaces and a bat grip in the presentation ceremony as a prize. 2. Belts in International League T20 The inaugural edition of the International League (ILT20) kickstarted on January 13, 2023. There have been many unique concepts incorporated into the marquee tournament and one being the introduction of belts. There are a total of five belts - Green Belt, White Belt, Black Belt, Red Belt, and Blue Belt in the T20 extravaganza. A Green Belt will be held by the highest run-getter of the tournament whereas White Belt will be given to the leading wicket-taker of the competition. Both these belts will be passed on from one player to another if there is a change in statistics after any match. Coming to the other belts, the Black belt will be handed to the owner of the champion franchise, Red Belt will be given to the most valuable player of the tournament, and last but not the least, Blue Belt will be awarded to the best UAE player of the tournament. When Dubai Capitals faced Gulf Giants in the fifth game of ILT20 in Dubai, Robin Uthappa hammered 79 runs off 46 balls, and with the sensational knock, he became the first player to hold the Green belt. Currently, James Vince is the holder of the Green Belt while Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the holder of the White Belt. 1. Scottish Whisky Souvenir to Australia Captain Mitch Marsh Australia toured Scotland for the three-match T20I series in September 2024 and won comprehensively by a margin of 3-0. More than the final game, fans were buzzing over the trophy presented to Australian captain, Mitchell Marsh. The all-rounder was handed over a small bowl which could not be shared by the presenter and the captain in one go for the photographs. However, the bowl holds much more importance than it seems to the outer world. It is a special bowl and is termed as Scottish Souvenir to hold whiskey. Scotland’s national drink is Whiskey, and with the souvenir, every player takes a sip from the bowl. After the traditions, the Australian team joined together for a group photo before boarding the flight to the United Kingdom for six white-ball games against England.

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Top 12 unique and unusual awards in cricket history

At times we have seen players and teams being awarded strange trophies for their heroic display.

11. Coca-Cola Cup 1998

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