Pollard on fire for T&T

IT took Kieron Pollard less then half hour on Saturday night to remind West Indian fans why he is among the biggest earners in world cricket.The strapping Trinidadian all-rounder strode to the crease with his country in serious trouble against a combative Leeward Islands unit in the teams’ Caribbean Twenty20 Zone “A” match.Trinidad and Tobago, in pursuit of the Leewards’ competitive 161 for seven off 20 overs were 82 for five, 80 adrift with 41 balls remaining.Pollard spent four balls settling in before unleashing a memorable onslaught of power-hitting that turned a panicked pursuit into a palpable picnic.The win ensured Trinidad and Tobago a semi-final berth in front of their home fans next Friday at the Queen’s Park Oval and ended the Leewards’ hopes.The 23-year-old Pollard, already assured of a place in September’s prestigious Champions League after similar exploits earlier this year for South Australia and IPL’s Mumbai Indians, lit up Kensington Oval with seven towering sixes on his way to 53 not out off 20 balls.Pollard began the surge off Justin Athanaze’s off-spin, two leg side sixes plopped into the stands not so much through brute force but with a casual wave of his magic wand.West Indies teammate Dwayne Bravo maintained the acceleration with a trio of fours off Wilden Cornwall before Pollard virtually sealed the deal in the 17th over with a brutal assault on Tonito Willett’s medium pace.The first ball, fractionally short, was last seen sailing over the Greenidge & Haynes Stand in the direction of the offices of this newspaper.Three more leg side sixes followed as 27 runs leaked in the over.With 16 needed from 18 balls, Pollard sensibly pushed his team to the brink before allowing himself one last indulgence, reaching his 50 off 19 balls with his seventh six.Bravo’s run-a-ball unbeaten 33 and Denesh Ramdin’s cameo 21 off 12 finished as footnotes to Pollard. But both were important contributions especially after pacer Gavin Tonge’s two early wickets and spin twins Anthony Martin and Athanaze choked the Trinis early.The Leewards’ total was built around an opening stand of 46 between Javia Liburd and newcomer Kadeem Phillip, and an attractive topscore of 48 from wicketkeeper Kerry Mentore.Liburd struck three fours and two sixes in 39 off 36 balls.Phillip, a burly Antiguan left-hander with a striking resemblance to reggae singer Sean Kingston, contributed 20 off 23.Mentore lashed three fours and two sixes off 37 balls.Pollard saw his two overs disappear for 30 runs but revenge was sweet an hour later.