WI vs BAN: West Indies’ Cameron Cuffy once awarded man of the match without even batting, taking a wicket or a catch
Man of the match are normally awarded to the players who have helped their sides in winning by taking the most wickets or by scoring the most runs. In fact, sometimes if a player makes a game-changing impact in the game through extraordinary fielding efforts, the man of the match award could be given. But, did you know that once a West Indies pace bowler named Cameron Cuffy was awarded man of the match despite not scoring a run, taking a wicket, or grabbing a catch in the whole game?
Cameron Cuffy won the game for West Indies with his economical bowling
On 23rd June 2001, West Indies were up against Zimbabwe in a game of the Coca-Cola Cup tournament. Batting first, West Indies posted a decent total of 266 for 5. However, Zimbabwe looked on their way to overhauling the target while chasing.
It was an economical spell of 20/0 in 10 overs, including two maidens from Cameron Cuffy to restrict Zimbabwe to 239 for 9 and secure a 27-run win for the West Indies. The pacer, subsequently, was awarded the man of the match for his efforts.
For those who don’t know, Cuffy was a 6-foot 7 inches tall pacer who was placed among the category of West Indies greats like Joel Garner and Curtly Ambrose during his initial days. He made his Test debut in 1994 against India and managed to dismiss the great Sachin Tendulkar thrice in his career.
However, Cameron Cuffy’s career never took off as he was in and out of the West Indies team during the 1990s. The right-arm pacer represented the Caribbean side in 15 Tests and 41 ODIs during his career. He managed to bag 43 wickets in his Test career at an average of 33.83, while he has registered 41 ODI wickets against his name averaging 35.02 at an economy rate of 4.
