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| country = West Indies
| country = West Indies
| fullname = Kieron Adrian Pollard
| fullname = Kieron Adrian Pollard
| nickname(s) = Kizza
| living = true
| living = true
| dayofbirth = 12
| dayofbirth = 12

Revision as of 06:32, 9 October 2010

Kieron Pollard
Personal information
Full name
Kieron Adrian Pollard
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight–arm medium
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 134)10 April 2007 v South Africa
Last ODI03 June 2010 v South Africa
ODI shirt no.55
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2006–Trindad and Tobago
2009–10South Australia
2010-Mumbai Indians
2010Somerset (squad no. 5)
Career statistics
Competition ODIs T20I FC LA
Matches 30 20 20 48
Runs scored 538 190 1,199 1,109
Batting average 19.92 12.66 37.46 27.72
100s/50s 0/1 0/0 3/5 0/7
Top score 62 38 174 87
Balls bowled 936 258 571 1,410
Wickets 30 11 6 57
Bowling average 27.76 32.72 52.16 21.29
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 3/27 2/22 2/29 4/32
Catches/stumpings 10/– 11/– 32/– 22/–
Source: CricketArchive, 04 June 2010

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 the Somerset Sabres 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]

Kieron Pollard bowling for Somerset during the 2010 FPt20.

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]

Kieron Pollard batting for Somerset during the 2010 FPt20.

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, and has signed for Somerset County Cricket Club for the 2010 Twenty20 Cup competition.[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.

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]

References

  1. ^ "A cricketing millionaire ... who averages 17". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  2. ^ "Pakistan Under-19s v West Indies Under-19s". CricketArchive. 2006-01-22. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  3. ^ "Batting and Fielding in ICC Under-19 World Cup 2005/06 (Ordered by Average)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  4. ^ "Australia Under-19s v West Indies Under-19s". CricketArchive. 2006-02-08. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  5. ^ Cricinfo staff (2006-08-12). "Pollard takes T & T to Stanford 20/20 final". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  6. ^ "Barbados v Trinidad and Tobago". CricketArchive. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  7. ^ Seepersad, Roger (2007-01-13). "Pollard included in World Cup probables". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  8. ^ Cricinfo staff (2007-01-21). "Pollard ton props Trinidad". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  9. ^ "Batting and Fielding in KFC Cup 2006/07 (Ordered by Runs)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  10. ^ Cricinfo staff (2007-02-15). "Samuels makes West Indies squad". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  11. ^ "West Indies v Kenya". CricketArchive. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  12. ^ "West Indies v India". CricketArchive. 2007-03-09. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  13. ^ Vasu, Anand (2007-04-10). "Clinical South Africa dispatch hosts". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  14. ^ "West Indies v South Africa". CricketArchive. 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  15. ^ Cricinfo staff (2007-07-26). "Pollard named in West Indies' Twenty20 squad". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  16. ^ Cozier, Tony (2007-11-12). "Baffling omission of Simmons and Pollard". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  17. ^ "Batting and Fielding in Stanford Twenty20 2007/08 (Ordered by Average)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  18. ^ "West Indies v Sri Lanka". CricketArchive. 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  19. ^ Cricinfo staff (2008-07-22). "Stanford Superstars Twenty20 squad announced". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  20. ^ "Stanford Super Stars v Trinidad and Tobago". CricketArchive. 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  21. ^ McGlashan, Andrew (2008-10-30). "Fletcher helps Superstars to huge win". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  22. ^ "Stanford Super Stars v England". CricketArchive. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  23. ^ "Bowling in West Indies Cricket Board Cup 2008/09 (Ordered by Average)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  24. ^ Cricinfo staff (2008-11-21). "Pollard takes T&T into final". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  25. ^ "Blues eye big-hitting Pollard". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-10-20.
  26. ^ "Somerset sign West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard". BBC Sport. 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  27. ^ "Friends Provident t20, 2010 - Somerset / Records / Batting and bowling averages". Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  28. ^ McGlashan, Andrew (August 14, 2010). "Trescothick and Buttler lead Somerset to the final". Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  29. ^ "Hampshire champions after thrilling finish". Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  30. ^ "Final: Hampshire v Somerset at Southampton". Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
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