Nathan Astle has arguably been the most successful batsmen in the world of cricket in the past years during his era, with an impressive record across ODIs and Tests. Known for hard-hitting consistently, he has been instrumental in many victories of the nation from down under across both the formats. Astle scored a blistering double hundred against England in 2002, which is still considered as one of the most entertaining Test innings’ ever.
Despite his remarkable record for the ‘Black Caps’, he has won the ‘Man of the Match’ on only 1 occasion in the 81 Tests he played, that too he was given shared honours along with Alec Stewart in the 1st Test of the year against England back in 1997.
Let us have a look at Top players who have never won a “Man of the Match” award in a Test match:
#5 Moin Khan
Much similar to the other Indian wicket-keeper in our list, Moin Khan was a regular in the Pakistani team during the 1990s and was part of the famous 1992 World Cup Winning squad led by the dynamic Imran Khan. Though facing fierce competition from Rashid Latif for a place in the team with the gloves, Moin khan was preferred over Latif for his batting skills, with the help of which the Rawalpindi-born helped the Pakistani team several times lower down the order.
After retiring from his 69-match Test career, he was appointed for various managerial posts for the Pakistani national team. Known for his swashbuckling style of batting, Khan ended his Test career with a not-so-impressive average of 28.55 whilst hitting 4 centuries. In spite of his contributions with the bat and the behind the sticks, he was never awarded the “Man of the Math” award in Tests.
#4 Syed Kirmani
Syed Kirmani was one of the most successful wicket-keepers for India, next only to Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has kept in 2 more Tests than the former. Kirmani was part of the era in Indian Cricket in which the country saw their cricketing heroes achieve memorable feats including the 1983 Cricket World Cup win and various overseas Test victories.
Not much was expected from wicket-keepers with the bat in those days, but he offered more than demanded. Being a useful batsman lower down the order, he played a key role during India’s 1983 World Cup triumph. This Mysore-born keeper had an average of 27.04, which hardly speaks about the stability he gave in the batting order and was overlooked as the “Man of the Match” in each of the 88 Test matches he played.
#3 Bob Willis
Bob Willis is considered as one of the greatest fast bowlers England ever produced. A veteran of 90 Tests, Willis is still the fourth highest taker or the ‘Three Lions’ in Tests. During the 1981 Ashes, he bowled a spell of 8 for 43, which is still considered as one of the best bowling displays ever in the history of the game.
In the year 1978, he was named the Wisden Cricketer of the year. Known for his fierce fast bowling abilities, he has taken as many as 16 5-wicket hauls in his Test career, but strange as it sounds, was never awarded the “Man of the Match” award.
#2 Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell is one of the most accomplished commentators these days; he was even more effective as a batsman during his heydays. Born in a family where two of his brothers also represented the Australia, he took charge of the Australian team from former skipper Bill Lawry. He was greatly successful in his stint at the helm before shifting his loyalty to the infamous “World Series Cricket” introduced by Kerry Packer.
The most successful Test series win under his leadership was the 4-1 Ashes triumph in 1974-75 seasons regaining the urn. The cricketer from South Africa led the Australian team to the final of the inaugural Cricket World Cup in 1975 but lost to the West Indies. Playing 75 Test matches over a span of more than 15 years, he has 14 centuries to his name at an average of 42.42 runs, the iconic batsman was never honoured with the “Man of the Match” award.
#1 Joel Garner
Joel Garner was part of the famous ‘quatret’ which haunted batting line-ups during the late 70s to early 80s. Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, and Andy Roberts were the other 3 speedsters. One of the tallest cricketers to ever play the game at 6 feet 8 inches, the batsmen facing him knew that chin music was the tone for the hour. The ‘Big Bird’ played at a time when the West Indies team was an unstoppable force, led by the southpaw from Guyana, Clive Llyod.
Garner played 58 Tests and took 259 wickets at an unbelievable average of 20.97. With these figures, it’s quite unnatural to reveal that the man from Barbados has not been awarded a single “Man of the Match” award. Hard to believe? Isn’t It ? That’s not all. Another mind-blowing fact is that in spite of never winning a “Man of the Match” award, he has been named “Match of the Series” two times.
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