Flashback: The first-ever Man of the Match award winner in ODIs

The trend of player of the match awards in Test cricket began as late as 1976 but the tradition was introduced in the ODI format by then. The first-ever man of the match award in International cricket was witnessed in the first-ever match of One-Day International cricket. England took on Australia at the Melbourne cricket ground on January 5th 1971 to cover up for the abandoned Test at the same ground. The match was decided to be a 40-over affair with each over consisting of 8 balls.

Australia won the toss and invited the visiting team to bat first. It took time for the England team to adjust to the dynamics of limited-overs cricket as they got bowled out for 190 in 39.4 overs. The Aussies spinners Ashley Mallett and Keith Stackpole claimed three wickets apiece to keep England down to a moderate total. John Edrich was the star for England with the bat having scored 82 from 119 balls despite hitting only four boundaries.

Edrich was dismissed at the score of 156/7 trying to up the rate towards the end. In reply, Ian Chappell played a crucial role in Australia’s successful chase as he scored 60 from 103 balls with five fours and a six; which was the first-ever maximum hit in the ODI format. Doug Walters’ 51-ball 41 while batting at No.4 made the chase easy one for the Aussies who got to the target with 42 balls and 5 wickets to spare. The English skipper Ray Illingworth took three wickets but couldn’t stop the home team from a win.

#OnThisDay
The third Test match between England and Australia was washed out and in order to satisfy the fans, a ODI match was conducted?

John Edrich won the man of the match#ThisDayThatYear #crickethistory #johnedrich #englandcricket #cricketaustralia #ODIcricket #tosstime pic.twitter.com/DmAUSRKwZN

— Toss Time (@time_toss) January 5, 2021

46,006 fans were present in the stands of MCG to witness the first-ever ODI match resulting in the venue earning a total of $33,894.60 through the tickets. Despite his efforts coming in the losing cause, John Edrich was awarded as the player of the match. Thus, Edrich became the first-ever player to win a ‘Man of the Match’ award in ODI cricket and also the first to win it in an International cricket game.