Kieron Pollard
Kieron Adrian Pollard (born 12 May 1987) is an international cricketer who plays for the West Indies. An aggressive all-rounder, Pollard provides medium-fast pace bowling and big-hitting from the middle-order. After shining during the 2009 Champions League Twenty20, he was signed by both the Southern Redbacks and Somerset for their domestic Twenty20 campaigns. He was the joint highest paid player in the 2010 Indian Premier League, playing for Mumbai Indians.
Career
Early life and career
Pollard was born in Tacarigua, Trinidad where he was raised, along with two younger sisters, in a poor home by his single mother. Speaking about it, Pollard reflects "It was pretty tough, it wasn't ideal getting up and your mum say 'We only have X amount of money'."[1] After representing Trinidad and Tobago in the 2005 TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Challenge, he was selected as part of the West Indies Under-19 cricket team to tour Pakistan. Pollard top-scored for the West Indies in the first youth One Day International (ODI), scoring 53 runs off 49 balls.[2] Pollard made another half-century in the second match, but didn't manage to make double figures in either of last two games. He was named in the West Indies squad for the 2006 U/19 Cricket World Cup, held in Sri Lanka, where he only managed to make 19–runs in his four innings,[3] though he did manage to take two wickets in a defeat to Australia.[4]
During the 2006 English season he came to England to play for Haxey CC in Lincolnshire; he was meant to play the whole season but was called back to play for Trinidad and Tobago after just one month. Pollard made his senior debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford Twenty20 against the Cayman Islands in July 2006. He finished the tournament with a respectable return of six wickets, and starred in the semi-final against Nevis, scoring 83 runs off just 38 balls, an innings which included 7 sixes to book Trinidad and Tobago's place in the final.[5] He made his first-class debut six months later against Barbados, and marked the occasion with a century. As in the Twenty20, his innings contained a large number of boundaries, with 86 of his 126 runs coming from either fours or sixes.[6] A score of 46 not out on his List A debut ensured that Pollard was in the selector's minds for the upcoming World Cup, and he described it as "a dream come true" when he was selected in the provisional 30-man squad for the tournament.[7] Pollard's "dream run" continued with half-centuries in both four-day and 50-over matches against Guyana, followed by his second first-class century, coming against the Leeward Islands.[8] Against Jamaica, Pollard showed his bowling ability, claiming four wickets in his seven overs to claim his fifth man of the match award in his 15th major cricket match. Trinidad and Tobago remained unbeaten in the 2006–07 KFC Cup, beating Windward Islands in the final to claim the trophy. Pollard finished as the competition's leading run-scorer, making 261 runs from his seven innings at an average of over 40.[9]
2007 World Cup
The impressive start to Pollard's career prompted his 'surprise selection' as part of the 15-man squad to compete in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, keeping more experienced players out of the team.[10] Pollard played in both warm-up matches for the West Indies, making 14 runs and claiming two wickets against Kenya,[11] and scoring two runs in a heavy defeat to India a few days later.[12] He wasn't selected to play in the initial group-stage, eventually making his debut in a 'high-stakes game' against South Africa in the super-eights stage of the competition. Pollard's selection was one of a number of questions raised about Lara's captaincy during the match, which the West Indies lost by 67 runs.[13] Pollard bowled three wicket-less overs in the match, and scored 10 runs in the West Indies unsuccessful run-chase.[14]
Lucrative summer
Although named in the provisional 30-man squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20,[15] Pollard failed to make the cut for the tournament. The absence of Pollard and Lendl Simmons from the West Indies performance squad in 2007–08 was described as "baffling" by Tony Cozier, describing how the pair "had been seemingly identified as among those for the future but have quickly been shunted aside."[16] Pollard was disappointing as Trinidad and Tobago won the 2007–08 Stanford Twenty20, averaging nine from his three innings.[17]
Pollard was recalled to the West Indies ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka. The match was rained off after 18.2 overs of the West Indian run-chase with Pollard not required to bat.[18] He retained his place in the squad for the home series against Australia, but after scores of 11 and 0 in the first two matches, he was dropped for the final three.
Despite his poor form in the previous season's Stanford Twenty20, Pollard was named as part of the initial 32-member Stanford Superstars Twenty20 squad. The squad would provide the starters for the US$20 million winner-takes-all match against England later in the year.[19] After a series of practice matches, Pollard was included in the team for the warm-up match against his Trinidad and Tobago side, where he made 24 runs off 14 balls and claimed the wicket of captain Daren Ganga.[20] He followed this up with a nine-ball 27 against Middlesex, including three consecutive sixes in the last over.[21] In the final, Pollard claimed the wickets of Andrew Flintoff and Luke Wright to help limit England to a total of 99, which Super Stars openers Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher chased down in 12.4 overs.[22]
Later career
The 2008–09 West Indies Cricket Board Cup saw an improvement in Pollard's bowling, as he claimed nine wickets in the competition with a bowling average of 14.22.[23] An all-round performance against Jamaica in the semi-finals, in which he took three wickets and made 76, earnt Trinidad and Tobago a place in the final, and Pollard the man of the match award.[24]
In the 2009 Champions league T-20 for Trinidad & Tobago, Pollard hit 54 runs in just 18 balls in the 15th match against New South Wales in Hyderabad. This earned the man of the match award and his side a crucial win. His display of hitting was so impressive that NSW approached Pollard after the game and attempted to sign him for themselves.[25]
Pollard also represents the South Australian Redbacks in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. He also signed for Somerset County Cricket Club for the 2010 Friends Provident t20.[26]
Indian Premier League
Pollard's impressive performance in the 2009 Champions League Twenty20 and the Big Bash led to him being one of the most sought after players at the 2010 IPL auction. After some aggressive bidding, the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore all bid the maximum allowed; $750,000. A 'silent-tiebreaker' was won by the Mumbai Indians, which retained him in 2011 IPL.
ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010
After his impressive performance at Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians, the West Indian all-rounder was picked in the West Indian squad for 2010 ICC World Twenty20.
Domestic 2010 season
Pollard had a successful 2010 Friends Provident t20 for Somerset, helping them to the final of the competition on August 14, 2010. He scored 354 runs during the competition at 32.18 - the second highest Somerset batting average - including two half centuries at a strike rate of 175.24 runs per 100 balls. He also took 29 wickets at 15.10, second among all Somerset's bowlers.[27] He took an impressive catch on the boundary in the semi final against Nottinghamshire,[28] and then scored 22 from seven balls in the final match against Hampshire, including two sixes and a four, before Dominic Cork injured him with a bouncer that required hospital treatment.[29][30]
On the back of Pollard's domestic performance he was offered a central contract which he turned down because that would force him to be available for West Indies selection all the time and Pollard wanted to play Twenty20 cricket as well. Despite this his good performances meant that he was selected for the West Indies in the ODI and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka as several high profile names such as Denesh Ramdin and Ramnaresh Sarwan had been dropped. [31]
Records
One Day International Centuries
References
External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Pollard, Kieron |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
|
| Date of birth |
12 May 1987 |
| Place of birth |
Tacarigua |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|