Orville Higgins | Pollard is the best we can do at this time

A few days ago, the powers that be in West Indies cricket made the surprising decision to sack both Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite as captains of the One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 teams, respectively.

Kieron Pollard has been appointed to lead both teams, a move that is generating healthy debate all across the region. Pollard is by no means the ideal candidate, but let’s take everything into consideration.

For starters, the time was certainly right to relieve Holder of his job as skipper of the ODI team. The West Indies have not won an ODI series in four years. Captaincy may not be the real reason behind that unflattering fact on Holder’s résumé, but you can’t blame the selectors for looking elsewhere for someone to lead the team.

After the disastrous World Cup campaign, the selectors had to give the opportunity for a new leader to take the team forward, at least until the next World Cup. Changing the ODI skipper was therefore an easy, if not automatic, decision.

It is my view that Brathwaite was never the ideal man to lead the Twenty20 team in the first place, if for no other reason than the fact that he never could be considered a must-pick on the team. Holder and Andre Russell would always be seen as being ahead of him as fast-bowling all-rounders, and therefore he was a luxury that the team could well afford to do without. It was becoming increasingly obvious that he was being played at times only because he was captain. Changing both captains in the white-ball version was therefore the right thing to do.

The decision to give both jobs to Pollard, though, is not straight-forward.

Giving him the Twenty20 captaincy was easy. He has been one of the more established and respected T20 players in the world for a while now, and his aggressive, in-your-face style of captaincy has long found favour with many regional watchers. Asking him to captain the ODI team is a different matter altogether.

He has not played ODI cricket for three years, and therefore, it cannot be ideal for him to now be in charge in the One-Day team. His 25 average in the One-Day game doesn’t pencil him in as a sure pick either.

DEFAULT CANDIDATE

The question, though, is, if not Pollard, then who?

Pollard becomes a candidate almost by default.

Chris Gayle was the vice-captain at the World Cup, but he can’t be given the team now. Rovman Powell was asked to lead a few games, but he can’t even make the team right now. Shai Hope has been the team’s best player in this format over the last two years but seems to be too laid back and introverted for the role. Hetmeyer was a successful Under-20 captain but is too impetuous and irresponsible at this stage. Roston Chase is calm and level-headed and is also well respected, but he is just finding his feet as an ODI player.

The options are not all that enticing,and therefore, Pollard gets the nod because he is the best choice among candidates whose credentials are not all that great. The team can do no worse under Pollard, and his competitiveness and his toughness on his players may just be what the team needs to give of their best.

Having Pollard as our ODI and T20 skipper is like having leftover dinner after a hard day on the job. It’s not exactly what you would want, but it serves a useful purpose.