New Delhi [India], June 29 : Australian all-rounder Mitchell Owen is on verge of a world record, as with one more 'Player of the Match' award during the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC), he will join Bangladesh legend Shakib al Hasan as player with most successive POTM honours in T20 cricket.
While representing Washington Freedom in the ongoing MLC tournament, he secured his fourth consecutive POTM against San Francisco Unicorns, taking a brilliant 5/17 to reduce the opponents to 157/9 in their 20 overs in pursuit of 170 runs. However, he scored a first-ball duck with the bat.
One more will help him join Shakib as the player with the joint-most-successive POTMs in T20s, with a total of five, as per Wisden.
Previously, against the Los Angeles Knight Riders, he scored a quickfire 43 in 16 balls (three fours and four sixes) to successfully chase down 214 runs and had bowling figures of 0/47. Before this, against the Texas Super Kings, he first took 3/33 with the ball, following it with a 52-ball 89 (eight fours and five sixes) to chase down a massive 221 runs. Against MI New York, he took 1/29 and scored a fiery 60 in 26 balls, with five fours and five sixes to chase down 189 runs for his side to earn the POTM honours.
In the ongoing MLC, Owen is the second-highest run-getter, with 288 runs in seven matches at an average of 41.14 and a strike rate of 210.21, with two fifties. He is also the second-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps at an average of 14.35.
Owen rose to fame with a century for Hobart Hurricanes (108 in 42 balls with six fours and 11 sixes) to win them their first-ever Big Bash League (BBL) title. He is now the eighth man to win POTM in four consecutive T20 matches.