Thorpe - Man of the Match Photo Photosport

"A match is played between two sides, each of eleven players ……." So begins Law 1 of the Laws of Cricket as determined by the MCC. No mention there that one of those eleven players will be taken aside and elevated to a special position as man-of-the-match and showered with cheques and trophies.

The anomaly of designating such a player in what is essentially a team game has been underlined by events in Christchurch during the first Test between New Zealand and England. It was a magnificent game of cricket that held the attention throughout. To be the perfect game of cricket, the result should have remained in doubt to the very end. In years to come, people might ask what was so special about a match won by a margin of 98 runs. Just look at the details.

Put in on a green pitch offering inordinate help to the seamers, England were two wickets down without scoring a run in the first over. At a time when the bowling was at its keenest and the pitch most helpful, England captain Nasser Hussain stood firm to score a century that kept his side in the game. Over half the runs scored off the bat came from the one he was wielding and the next highest score was 31.

Then New Zealand batted and, to illustrate what a fine knock Hussain's had been, were dismissed for 147. Much to do with this was the bowling of Matthew Hoggard. He bowled 17 overs off the reel to finish with figures of 7 for 63 off 21.2. Conditions were still helpful, but he was the one to take advantage of them to fullest effect with a succession of swinging deliveries pitching in exactly the right spot.

England batted again and were in trouble with half their second innings wickets gone, the pitch getting easier and the lead standing at 187. However, things could have been worse, for Graham Thorpe was dropped off a simple chance to slip second ball when he had four. After that, he went on to score a double century – the third fastest in Test history at the time – inspired to a degree by a superb maiden Test century from Andrew Flintoff at the other end. It was a record-breaking partnership with Flintoff all power and muscular aggression, Thorpe full of finesse and craft. Thorpe picked the bowler's pocket while Flintoff mugged him.

Astle - no award Photo Photosport

England were in an impregnable position. The target was 550 for New Zealand to win. They were nowhere near it. In fact, it was a good effort to get as close as they did with Andrew Caddick taking six wickets as the ninth wicket fell with 333 on the board. The injured Chris Cairns came out to join Nathan Astle who, quite simply, went berserk.

With, it should be stressed, authentic cricket strokes, he leathered the ball to all parts of the ground – and beyond. The fastest double century in Test history, the second of which came from 39 balls. In total 222 runs from 168 balls with 28 fours and 11 sixes. A once in several lifetimes' performance; the stuff of legends. Man-of-the-match material? You could be forgiven for drawing that conclusion, but the award went to Thorpe.

There is an unwritten rule that adjudicators give the award to the batsman who has the highest score on the winning side. Bowlers rarely get a look in and, as we can see from Christchurch, if you do not happen to be on the winning side, forget it. Had Astle scored 500 and New Zealand finished four runs short, he might still not have got it. But why have individual awards in a Test match anyway?

In all the instant hype of a one-day game, one man's performance can often be significant in wresting the result towards his team. In a Test scheduled to last five days, the result rarely depends on the efforts of one man. And even if it does, he relies on his team-mates to help him. A batsman needs someone at the other end to keep him company and run his runs. A bowler needs fielders to catch the catches. All of which is why the cash for such awards goes into the team kitty rather than the winner's pocket.

Andy Pick - victim of poor decision Photo Paul McGregor

If, indeed, the award did go to the wrong man in this instance, it would not be for the first time. After the 1984 Benson and Hedges Cup final, Peter May gave the award not to Alvin Kallicharran who had scored 70 of Warwickshire's 139 runs. He did not give it to Paul Allott who took 3 for 15 from 8.4 overs. He gave it to Lancashire captain John Abrahams. A good fielder, he took one catch, did not bowl, and scored nought. No one really knows what came over Peter May standing on the Lord's balcony that day. Abrahams certainly does not know.

Five years later, there was a similar travesty at Old Trafford after the semi-final of the Refuge Cup. Nottinghamshire's Andy Pick claimed three wickets in seven balls to reduce Lancashire to 20 for 4. He later accounted for Wasim Akram who looked capable of rescuing Lancashire from an impossible situation. Wasim was out for 56 and later took 1 for 28. Pick finished with 4 for 25 and, surely, the man-of-the-match award.

No. That went to Wasim Akram. And who was the idiot who awarded it to him? Well, I have to confess to being guilty as charged. It all happened so terribly quickly, and one of Pick's wickets was bowled off an inside edge, another off the pads, and yet another caught off bat and pad in the covers. At the time, I thought …..well, it doesn't matter what I thought. With hindsight, it was a very poor decision.

Perhaps that is why I feel there is just no need for individual awards. Maybe that is why I am sensitive to miscarriages of justice in these matters. Thorpe's innings was superb and contributed greatly towards the winning of the match. However, Astle's innings is the one that rewrote the record books and will be the one at which everyone will still be marvelling in many years to come. That is probably worth more than a few dollars and a souvenir.

© CricInfo