By David Jackson
The sudden retirement of West Indies
‘white-ball’ cricket captain, came as
a major surprise to me. I was not
expecting this announcement so
soon. I really thought Kieron Pollard would
have continued as captain, especially for
T201s, until the conclusion of the ICC T20
World Cup 2022, scheduled to begin on the
16th of October this year.
Pollard had been facing growing criticism as captain, and the
continued poor or average performances of
the West Indies in ODIs and T201s, since his
appointment as ‘white-ball’ captain in 2019,
further raised doubts in the minds of many,
regarding his role as captain. His own form
had apparently declined. It was rather sad
to see a player who at one time was such an
explosive batsman, with a remarkable strike
rate of almost 140, struggle like that with the
bat. He was still a hard worker in the field
though and at times still a useful medium-paced
bowler.
He left us with great memories;
spectacular catches in the field, especially along
the boundary and recently that impressive
six sixes in an over against Sri Lanka, in
March 2021. Only three other batsmen have
achieved this feat at the International level;
Ravi Shastri, Hershelle Gibbs and Yuvraj
Singh. Of course, Sir Garry Sobers was the
first batsman to hit six sixes in an over, but it
was not in an International match. He achieved
this in the County Championship in England
in 1968, while playing for Nottinghamshire
against Glamorgan. Malcolm Nash was
the unfortunate bowler. Sri Lankan’s Akila
Dananjaya was Kieron Pollard’s victim, and
I remember, while watching this knock by
Pollard, saying to myself. “Do you mean
Pollard really has more left in him?”. But
then, even after that knock, his struggles
with the bat continued.
Nevertheless, Kieron Pollard did give us some memorable moments in
his 15-year long international career, which consisted of
123 ODI matches, as well as, the 100 T201s he played
for the West Indies. I, therefore, take this opportunity
to thank Kieron Pollard for his outstanding contribution
to West Indies cricket.
Now, we look ahead to the changes to the West Indies
ODI squad, following the retirement of Kieron Pollard.
Firstly, the position of captain. Most persons will
agree that Nicholas Pooran, who was Pollard’s vice captain,
is now his likely replacement. Pooran
got several opportunities to perform
the role of captain when Pollard was
unavailable, mostly due to injury.
He did a reasonably good job.
I think he is, at present,
the best choice to be the
next ODI captain.
Who then should be his vice captain?
Some persons are already suggesting that Shimron Hetmyer,
who has had some experience as a former U19 captain of the West Indies
team, be given that role. But would the selectors consider him
for the job?
Shimron Hetmyer was over-looked for selection in recent series for West Indies because, as
it was said, of his failure to pass ‘the fitness test’. How
fit and ready is he now? In the eyes of the selectors
does he merit selection? Would we now see a more
determined effort from him to work on his fitness?
Would the reason given for his omission from the
team for the previous series affect his chances of
being given this important role as vice-captain?
We just have to wait and see. Like Pooran, he is an
immensely talented batman with great potential and
is surely one of the future stars for West Indies.
But what of Shai Hope? He was West Indies vice captain
for ODIs, under the captaincy of Kieron Pollard. Wasn’t he?
For a while too he was one of the leading ODI batsmen in the team, with a healthy
average. Sadly, the batting form of Hope has fallen
away badly and his position in the team is no longer
guaranteed. It is probably on this basis that Hope
may not be considered as vice-captain for the ODI
team.
The only other player who could possibly be
considered is Jason Holder, but I doubt the selectors
will re-appoint him to that position after he lost the
captaincy to Pollard in 2019.
In addition to losing Kieron Pollard, as captain,
the selectors must now think of a player to fill the
position left by Pollard, in the middle order. Of
course, identifying another ODI player is not as
‘tricky’ as finding a suitable replacement for Pollard
in the T20 batting line-up.
There are several players who can possibly be considered to fill the vacancy
left by Pollard in the middle order; Kyle Mayers,
Jason Holder, Rovman Powell or Fabian Allen. Allen
however, performs best as a T20 lower-order finisher.
In the fast bowling department, the choices are many.
Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder would most likely
spearhead the attack. Romario Sheperd and Odean
Smith will surely be in for some consideration and
would be quite useful as lower-order finishers when
the team is chasing a big target. Oshane Thomas
and Jayden Seales may also probably be under
consideration by the selectors.
Possessing raw pace, and with age still on his side, Oshane Thomas can
develop into an effective fast bowler, but he needs
to be managed properly. Jayden Seales who has so
far performed remarkably well as a Test bowler,
possesses the skills and talent needed to also become
a successful bowler in ODIs.
One bowler who would probably miss out this time is Kemar Roach. The
selectors tried Kemar Roach in ODIs, but it is clear for all to see that
Roach is not effective in this format and should therefore concentrate
solely on Test cricket.
Many changes are not expected in the spin bowling department. Akeal
Hosein has been performing quite well in the shorter formats of the
game, and he is expected to continue to be part of the West Indies
ODI squad going forward. In ODIs we need wicket-taking bowlers,
who can break partnerships. Hayden Walsh Jr, to me is one such
bowler. He can be a bit expensive at times and sometimes bowls too
many short-pitched deliveries. He just needs to work on his line and
length to become a very successful leg-break bowler.
Finally, let me address the issue regarding the West Indies top-order
batting. Who are the suitable openers? Evin Lewis is presently
struggling for form in the IPL, but that is franchise cricket. We expect
Lewis to continue performing well for West Indies, though he must
learn to curb that tendency to be overly aggressive. The other opener,
besides Shai Hope which I have already mentioned, is Brandon King,
but though the potential is there he hasn’t impressed. With Pooran
and Hetmyer (if considered fit) likely to be included in the other middle
order batting line-up, we expect Nkrumah Bonner and Shamarh
Brooks to be retained. Roston Chase needs to go return to playing
First-Class cricket. I cannot see him as part of any format for West
Indies right now. One question before I close. Would Pollard be
missed? My answer: he won’t be greatly missed. He was obviously in
decline. I think, in hindsight, his decision to retire now was a very
good decision.