ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

October 22, 2021

Kieron Pollard

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

West Indies

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. We may sound like we're on repeat, but one concern for the West Indies T20 has been strike rotation or lack thereof. You've said in the past that this is a work in progress. How much work has been done in that regard, and how confident are you that that area is covered going into the tournament?

KIERON POLLARD: A lot of work has been done behind the scenes. The guys have worked tirelessly to get to a point where we are right now trying to cover all bases.

As I continue to say and I've said before, we try to keep our strength our strength and work on our weakness, and we have accepted certain things and we have gone back behind the scenes and tried to work on that, so hopefully we can see a difference.

I'm sure, yes, you can see that in terms of the two games that we would have played, guys didn't show that sort of intent, and different things might have come out. But we're in the background very, very confident that the guys have done what is needed and hopefully look to hit the ground running come this first game.

Q. With such a dramatic finale to the 2016 T20 World Cup final, obviously, with Carlos Brathwaite hitting those four sixes, do you think that that will have any bearing on tomorrow's first match, considering we're coming up against some of the same players?

KIERON POLLARD: In terms of bearing to say will have a big impact, I don't think so, but it's definitely going to be in the back of their minds. I thought what Carlos did in those four deliveries in that last over, it's unbelievable. It's something that as a team we actually saw last night, and it brought goosebumps back to us.

For us to be in that situation and get over the line, it shows that sort of never-say-die attitude. We as a team, we look forward to trying to replicate winning the entire tournament, but those sort of moments sort of stick with us.

Hopefully we can just go out and play good cricket and get in a position and a situation where we actually are in the final so we can have some memories, as well, going forward.

But having said that, I don't think it'll have much bearing on the game because it's like another game of cricket. That situation was totally different being a final.

But be that as it may, looking forward to coming out and show and give a good account of ourselves.

Q. What's the update on Andrew Russell, and is he available to play tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: As of right now, obviously we have our last practice session this afternoon, and we'll just have a last look and see if we're confident for him to take the field. He played in that warmup game a couple days ago, and it was just like a trial for him because he hadn't played a cricket match in about three weeks, three to four weeks. There was still some rust there for him. He still needed to be a bit confident in his mind, but I'm sure even yesterday and a couple days before that he has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to be fit.

Let's see what transpires in this last session, but with that being said, I think as a team we are clear in our mind which direction we will want to go as opposed to not being clear and just waiting on the doctor to decide, or decide his fitness from a medical point of view. As a team we have spoken about different things, and let's see what happens in this last practice session here this afternoon.

Q. What's the mood in the West Indies camp?

KIERON POLLARD: I think the mood is upbeat. Yes, we accept that the two warmup games would not have gone how we wanted in terms of scoring the amount of runs and the sort of intent that we are looking for. But be that as it may, I think 40 guys joined the camp with three IPL guys joining for that final, we had a couple days of good intense sessions and guys understanding roles and responsibilities, and we get a sense that the guys are up for it.

The guys are just looking forward to starting this tournament, and as I said, yes, we accept we didn't do well in the warmup games, but be that as it may, it is what it is, we move on from that and we look forward to tomorrow.

Q. In the warmup matches the West Indies batsmen were struggling against spinners. What preparations have been made to deal with this with the first match of the tournament tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: I guess in terms of spinners it's just a matter of backing your strengths, backing your ability, understanding the situation, knowing when we need to use strength, knowing when we need to use our abilities, and again, playing to our strength if we have to show that intent of hitting spin.

So I think for us it's a mindset, and the guys have worked tirelessly. I keep saying that word, but we have worked really hard in the nets to try to understand the situation and what is actually needed.

When that bell rings, let's see if we can put it into practice, but we are really, really confident as a bunch and as a team, and we believe in each and every individual, and we have good chats as to what we want to accomplish.

As I mentioned just now, last night we had a nice sort of get-together as a team and as a family, and it was really nice to see the upbeat faces and the smiles on the guys' faces and the anxiety in looking forward to stepping on that cricket field come the 23rd.

Q. How big of a miss is Fabian Allen?

KIERON POLLARD: He's a big miss for us. Obviously he was part of our plans throughout the entire home series. He is an exciting player. We know what he can do with the bat in the back end, his electricity in the field.

And of course his bowling, he has done a pretty decent job for us when he has gotten that opportunity. So yes, it is a big miss. It's very, very unfortunate for him, a young guy, looking forward to playing I think in his first T20 World Cup, but that is the nature of sports, and it's something as a team we try to tend to bounce off pretty quickly and not let those sort of things keep us down.

I thought we got an able replacement in Akeal Hosein, who has done himself a great deal of good with his performances in CPL and international cricket and ODI cricket and stuff like that. Yes, he's young in his career, but he's taken on the mantle of bowling some difficult overs previously.

Let's see what he can give to us, and we're looking forward to the performances of all our spinners, bowlers and everyone.

Q. What is the sort of minimum or base requirement in your estimation to get out of this tough group, two wins, three wins?

KIERON POLLARD: I don't want to preempt anything. I just want every time that we step on the cricket field to play a good game of cricket. This is a sport, so you're going to win, you're going to lose. Obviously every time we step on that field we're looking to win matches, so for us it'll be unprecedented if we go all the way through not losing, but having said that, I don't want to preempt as to how many games we need to win to get to the group.

I think it's important that we plan each and every time and we look to execute our plans and hopefully results will sort of take care of itself against the opposition, whereas we're right on the button going into the last couple games in the preliminary round to qualify for the other half of the tournament.

Q. With Fabian out injured, there must be some thought of bringing Mr. Sunil Narine in the squad given his performances in the IPL. Any thoughts on that?

KIERON POLLARD: In terms of Sunil, obviously he's a big miss for any team. It's something that we sort of can't question in terms of his ability and his talent on what he has achieved, not only in the IPL, what he has done in CPL, what he has done over the years of a spinner, maybe one of the greatest spinners to play this format of the game. Yes, we accept it's a big miss for us, and it's something that as a team we would have liked to have.

It's very, very unfortunate at this point in time, so for me it's not a matter of trying to harp on it, but we just have to deal with what's in front of us of not having him, and trying to just go on and move on from this.

For us it's a big miss, Sunil Narine being one of our West Indian cricketers doing his due all around the world, but we just have to accept the circumstances at this point in time and try to give a good account of ourselves with the 15 guys that we have here, plus the reserves.

Q. What is the one area you would say is the greatest concern for the team currently, and what is the greatest strength of this unit?

KIERON POLLARD: I think in terms of concern, our biggest concern is just trying to start the tournament. The guys are anxious. The guys have been here in a while, and we're looking forward to starting the tournament.

I don't want to get into the specifics of concerning different persons have different problems at different times, but I think as a team, I think we are pretty confident. We're confident our batting can do the job. We're confident that our bowling can do the job, and we are very, very confident in the punch that we have in terms of the camaraderie and playing some exciting, entertaining cricket. For us, we're just looking to do that, and hopefully with that being said, we're able to sort of perform at different times, bring smiles to the faces of the people of the Caribbean around the world who continue to support us.

If not, we will just try our best to play good games of cricket and see what the results takes off. Some things we can't control so are normally not a concern for us as a team.

Q. I don't know that this question has ever been given a straightforward answer but it's always asked and we'll close out today's engagement with it. Have you finalized the 11 for tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: In our minds, I think from my perspective, we have an idea of what we want and who -- which personnel we want to get on to the cricket field tomorrow. I'm not actually going to give you it, but as I said, we are very, very clear in our minds what we want to achieve, and again, we're not going to wait sort of last minute to make this decision. We're looking forward to this game. Guys are just looking to top up this evening, and let's get the ball rolling.