Pollard: We need to do the basics right

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has urged regional cricket fans to put last week’s poor performance against Ireland behind and focus on today’s first of five T20s against England in Barbados. The match bowls off at 3 p.m. (Jamaica time).

The last couple of weeks have been bad for the West Indies as they suffered a 2-1 series loss to lowly Ireland in their One-Day International series at Sabina Park. While admitting that not much can be fixed in less than a week, Pollard has called on the T20 unit to execute in all three main facets of the game in a bid to turn around their fortunes.

“We have to execute in all three facets of the game, batting, bowling and fielding and we need to improve how we play. Last week the batting was a huge problem for us, but the good thing is that we have some new faces in the group, and these guys are looking to make a name for themselves on the international scene,” said Pollard.

Those new faces are Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Kyle Mayers and Fabian Allen, none of whom played in the Ireland series.

With the majority of those players being batsmen, Pollard believes the new bunch can give the batting unit the impetus needed to challenge the world number one-ranked England team.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

“We need to be able to do the basics right and play to the situation of the game. We need to be able to analyse, assess and make the right decisions. For us, it’s about starting from scratch, and some of the guys who got a run out in Pakistan, I am sure they are eager to build on their performances,” added Pollard.

Pollard, yesterday, dismissed concerns that his game has fallen off, despite only scoring only one half-century in 10 international innings.

“I am not worried about my form. I am working behind the scenes to get my batting in order,” Pollard said.

In the meantime, England captain Eoin Morgan says the team is here in the Caribbean virtually on a fact-finding and player trial mission, as the Three Lions are set to hand opportunities to several rookie players that they have brought on the tour.

Caribbean cricket fans may not know the name of players such as Tom Banton, Harry Brook, George Garton and David Payne. However, Morgan said it’s all about developing new talent to complement the likes of Chris Jordan, Jason Roy and Adil Rashid.

“This tour is one where the development of our game is more important than the series win. Primarily, we are looking beyond the World Cup and so we want to see if we can identify strength and depth outside of the normal group.”