Port-of-Spain, Trinidad — Kieron Pollard is eagerly looking forward to this weekend. The strongly-built allrounder, who is known worldwide for his power-hitting, will switch from the “red, white and black” uniform of the WICB Caribbean T20 for the more traditional “whites” as he suits up for Trinidad and Tobago in the WICB Four-day Tournament.
The hard-hitting Kieron Pollard. Photo: windiescricket.com
Pollard is in the Trinidad & Tobago squad to face Combined Campuses & Colleges in the opening round at the 3Ws Oval at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies. First ball in the day/night match on Friday is 3.30 pm (2.30 pm Jamaica Time). According to Pollard the match will be “special” as it will be played with the PINK ball under lights.
“I am excited to be on the Trinidad & Tobago team for this weekend. I have never played a match with the PINK ball before so for me this is something special. It has a special feel about it. There is great expectation among the team members. I have played a lot with the white ball and with the red ball but this (PINK ball match) is something very new for me and that makes it quite exciting,” said the 24-year-old Pollard.
“A few guys in the team have played with the pink ball before but this is the first day/night first-class match for me and I’m really looking ahead to the experience. We had a couple of training sessions with the ball but there has not been much movement for the bowlers, so it could favour the batsmen. For me, it is just a matter of making the adjustment and play it as I see it. I’m looking to start with a bang!”
Pollard made his first-class debut for Trinidad & Tobago against Barbados back in 2007. In his career he has so far played 21 first-class matches with 1,274 runs at 37.74 per innings. He has three centuries with a highest score of 174.
Just nine days ago the Trinidad & Tobago players were celebrating their capture of the WICB Caribbean T20 title which earned them a place in the Champions League for the third time. Pollard was the centre of attention as he won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
“I enjoy playing all formats of the game — T20, 50-over and the two innings version, I enjoy it all. I had a job to do in the Caribbean T20 and I was happy with the way I played and the way we played as a team. Winning was our focus and we were happy to achieve our goals and objectives,” Pollard said.
“I am confident we can make a smooth transition from the T20 format to the four-day format. We are a close unit and we play for each other. As a professional you are expected to switch from one format the next and perform at the high level. Once we get out on the field and start to run around in the white clothes I am sure everything will fall into place.”
The other matches this weekend will be day matches. Defending champions Jamaica will face Windward Islands at Sabina Park, while Guyana take on Leeward Islands at Windsor Park in Dominica. Barbados have drawn a bye.