Pollard 'dreams' of playing Test cricket

SOMERSET, England (CMC):

Kieron Pollard still harbours the dream of playing Tests for West Indies, despite being pigeon-holed as a Twenty20 firebrand-for-hire.  Pollard has spent the last month in Britain playing for Somerset in the English Twenty20 Championship.

This followed a snub of a pick on the West Indies 'A' team to pursue the more lucrative option, much to the chagrin of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

But Pollard has backed his decision to play for the English county side instead of trekking through Britain with the Windies reserves.

"I don't want to go into that too much, it's a fairly unique situation I found myself in," he told ESPN-Cricinfo.

"Things haven't gone smoothly in West Indies in recent times, and a lot of things need to be fixed. But it was about me being a professional sportsman, and I will always be committed to the West Indies team whenever I am called up."

He added: "It's my dream to play Test cricket and that will never change. At the moment, it is Twenty20 which has presented itself as my opportunity, but if the chance comes to put the whites on, that will be a dream.

"I'm still young, and would love to play for West Indies in all formats.

"I would have stood by my decision even if I hadn't performed well for Somerset. At the end of the day, the decision has been made and I will stick by it."

No nod

Pollard has appeared in 30 one-day internationals and 20 T20 internationals for West Indies, but has not gained the nod for the longest version of the game, despite a useful first-class batting average of 37.46 in 20 matches.

He has enriched Somerset's fortunes with 248 runs at a strike-rate of 177.14 and has claimed 20 wickets at 12.45 apiece.

Somerset has been the latest stop for Pollard to shop around his skills. He has played for South Australia in the Australian Big Bash T20 and also has a lucrative Indian Premier League contract with the Mumbai Indians.

But Pollard has informed his native Trinidad & Tobago that they need not fear missing him for the Caribbean T20, to be staged jointly by Barbados and his homeland.

"It's just the way it has happened for me," he said. "I'm not contracted by the WICB and the Twenty20 format is something that suits my game. I don't know how many more will follow, but some players might think of (being a freelance cricketer) as an option.

"I'm looking forward to playing for T&T and qualifying for the Champions League T20," he said, "... and if that situation arises (about a choice between multiple teams), then I'll make the decision who to play for. I'm going to give my all for T&T."