(CMC) After more than a year waiting in the wings, Kieron Pollard will once again get his chance in the West Indies squad for the upcoming Digicel One-Day International Series against Sri Lanka.
The West Indies Cricket Board included the hard-hitting 20-year-old batsman in a 16-man line-up to face the Sri Lankans in the three-match series, which begins at the Queen’s Park Oval today.
The second match is on Saturday, again at the Oval, while the third is in St Lucia on April 15.
Pollard is among four players called up to join the regional team for the shorter version of the game, while fellow Trinidad and Tobago off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth is the only player left out of the Test squad.
Also coming into the team are Leeward Islands batsman Runako Morton, Barbados wicketkeeper Patrick Browne and St Lucian all-rounder Darren Sammy.
Pollard, who was in the Windies party for the 2007 World Cup, was happy about getting another look-in by regional selectors.
“Well it’s a really good feeling to know that you’re selected once again for the West Indies team,” he said. “I always wondered how come I wasn’t selected before. But be that as it may, I will have to keep that in the back of my mind.”
Pollard has not set the field alight for T&T this year, with just two half-centuries, against Guyana and CCC, in the Carib Beer Series, but felt his form can turn around.
“I didn’t get the start in regional cricket I did last year, but be that as it may, I have been working hard in the nets. I have the ability and the confidence, it’s just a matter of going out there and doing what I know I can do…My confidence is high and I’m just ready and willing to go out there and do it.”
The call-up is even more special for Pollard than his initial selection to the West Indies team, when he played a single World Cup match against South Africa last year, and the T&T batsman intends to make the most of it.
“It really means a lot to me, having the advantage of youth on my side, the earlier I settle down the easier it will be for me. This one is meaning a lot more for me.
“I’m looking forward to it and I’m hungrier for it. Having had that first taste and know what it’s about, it’s helped me to settle down even more this time.’
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