Pollard lauds total team effort

NORTH SOUND, Antigua – Captain Kieron Pollard has pointed to West Indies’ efficient batting as a key component in their one-day series win over Sri Lanka.

Speaking after West Indies beat the visitors by five wickets in Sunday’s third ODI, Pollard said solid starts combined with a century in every game from the top order, had provided the batting with a high level of stability.

“We identified at the start of our tenure what we needed to do and I think that was getting a start, getting guys to bat and bat 50 overs and bat long,” Pollard explained.

“And we’ve identified Hopey (Shai Hope) and he’s done a fantastic job for us and that has laid the foundation for us more often or not, allowing the guys in the middle to come and play their natural games.”

Hope produced yet another sublime series, striking 110 in the opening ODI which West Indies won by eight wickets last Wednesday before following up with knocks of 84 and 64.

The right-hander finished the series with 258 runs at an average  of 86 and was at the centre of two record opening stands – 143 in the first ODI and 194 in the second – with left-hander Evin Lewis who hit a hundred and a half-century to end with 181 runs at an average of 60.

In the third match, Darren Bravo’s 102 – his fourth ODI hundred but first in five years – spearheaded another successful run chase.

“These guys have been working really, really hard. There’s competition for places and guys want to stick their necks out,” Pollard stressed.

“We spoken about one guy batting through the order, batting deep as possible and it was nice to see that in each and every game we got a hundred …

“That means the guys are really focussed on what they want to do and what they want to achieve, and it’s just for the [batsmen at the] back end to try and finish it off.”

While also praising the effort from the bowlers, Pollard said whenever they had stumbled, the batting had picked up the slack.

“It’s been a total team effort from us. The guys bowled well,” he noted.

“I thought we weren’t executing our yorkers and our deliveries at the back end of the innings [in the final game] and it cost us about 25, 30 runs so that wasn’t good for us going into the half.

“But the guys came and we really played as a team – when the bowlers falter the batters take up the mantle.”

The series was the first one at home for West Indies in over a year due to the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, but is expected to kick off a heavy schedule with the likes of Pakistan, South Africa and Australia expected to arrive.

And Pollard said it was important West Indies built on the Sri Lanka series result for the upcoming assignments.

“We have to use our home advantage. We are accustomed playing in the Caribbean and once we come and we prepare as a team and do what is necessary, the sky is the limit for us,” he contended.

“We’ve got to build on this. And I will encourage the guys go back and work so that when we come back, we don’t have to start over.” (CMC)