One of the most popular bets in cricket is the Man of the Match, where you predict who will receive the award at the end of the game. For beginner punters, who are experimenting with their skills in cricket betting in Germany or in other relatively new markets to cricket betting, this may sound like an easy thing to predict, considering that it only takes a close monitoring of who is the best player.
But this is not always the case and given that there can be many surprises in naming the Man of the Match in cricket, it is better that you should be aware of the different things that can make all the difference in who gets the title.
If you go through the MOM awards in cricket, you will certainly notice that there are several cases where the title has not been given to a player from the winning team.
In fact, some of these cases are widely popular. Sachin Tendulkar, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Chris Gayle, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Aravinda De Silva are some players – amongst many others – who have received the award several times even though they were on the ‘wrong’ side – the losing team.
The fact that being on the winning side does not guarantee the MOM award implies that betting on the Man of the Match is not as simple as one might expect. Since everybody can potentially win the title in a match, then how can bettors improve their chances of making a profit by picking the right cricketer or simply remain safe with their choices?
Well, while there are no formal or standard criteria for the awarded player, there are some things to consider. It is not a black-and-white matter, where one player fulfills the criteria, let’s say, and is named Man of the Match. It is neither the case where the cricketer with the best-measured performance gets the title in the end. And it’s not like the top batsman or the top bowler of the match will eventually be awarded.
The Man of the Match award goes to the player that contributes most with his performance to the team’s result. But the end result might not be the victory. Essentially, it is about identifying who has made the most outstanding performance and who has helped his team with his skills, efforts, outcomes and results, to progress. It’s a combination of runs scored, taken wickets and the overall positive effect a player has on the collective effort of the entire team.
This is why we might see a cricketer being named Man of the Match, without necessarily having the highest number of runs scored or wickets taken, or even without having led the team to victory. It is a matter of impact and more specifically a matter of one’s impact on the rest of the team.
So, what you need to consider is the bigger picture and not necessarily the numbers themselves. It might be a batsman who has scored a century and has elevated the morale of the team, bringing out the best of performances. It might be a bowler doing exceptional work and boosting the determination of the rest of the team, leading them to victory. Or it might be a cricketer without particular, tangible results, who, however, has managed to motivate the entire team with his dedication, devotion and effort and who has given an outstanding, quality performance.
Besides trying to unlock the dynamics of the team, it is also a matter of who makes the decision on the Man of the Match. Given that for the most part, the decision goes up to the commentators, it is a good thing to focus on what the commentators are actually focusing upon, what they are highlighting and how they seem to value ‘contribution’.
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