ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 3, 2021

Kieron Pollard

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

West Indies

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Kindly give us an update on your injury and how are you feeling at this point, and what's your message to the fans of the Caribbean?

KIERON POLLARD: Obviously good afternoon. For me personally, I am feeling pretty okay. I did some treating over the last couple days or so, and I pulled up pretty well.

It's just a matter now of putting the final touches to it and we'll see what happens tomorrow. We'll still have almost like a full 24 hours before the game, so looking forward to that time.

Again, overall as a team, I just believe that, yes, we are all disappointed, and I'm sure most of the fans are disappointed at the position that we are in as a team, and it's something that, yes, we accept, but again, we have an opportunity, a couple games to sort of finish the tournament on a high. Obviously we've finished the early stages and see mathematically where we sit, but I think the main focus for us is actually winning the two games, and everything else can sort of take care of itself afterwards.

Q. You talked about winning two games. You need to win by some huge margins to really get the run rate up. Is that added pressure? Are you guys confident that you can not just win but produce some massive wins in these last two matches?

KIERON POLLARD: Again, in this thing called life and sport, nothing is impossible. What I can safely say is yes, the guys are confident. We knew exactly what sort of is needed in terms of from a run rate perspective, and we'll take all things into consideration when that match starts.

But I also believe that it's very, very important that we continue to go through the process of trying to improve each and every time as a team and especially from a batting perspective, and that's going to be the order of the day. It's our opportunity now, guys can sort of take off the shackles that has been sort of holding us back in terms of obviously our batting performance. There's no secret about that.

But having said that, I think it's very, very important that we think about winning a cricket game and all the other possibilities that's around it, as well. But the main focus is an opportunity to play another game of cricket representing the Caribbean nation, and we will, and trying to do some justice to our talent and what is expected of us as a team.

Q. Prior to the tournament there was a lot of talk about Oshane being the X-factor player. We haven't seen him unleashed as yet. Can we look forward to seeing the X-factor player potentially unleashed against the subcontinent team of Sri Lanka?

KIERON POLLARD: All things being equal, all 15 players sort of are available for selection. I'm guessing that would have been said at the start when guys would have been sort of selected for the World Cup.

As we have gone along, we have tried to select teams and combinations that we best see fit, and I can say that as of right now, we haven't selected our final 11 as yet, so for me to say or preempt anything would be actually wrong of me, but as I said at the start, all 15 guys are available for selection come tomorrow.

Q. What's the mindset like in the camp? Given the team that we have on paper we're quite a formidable team. I'm sure seeing as things haven't gone the way we would have liked it to, what's the mindset like in the camp as we prepare for this big game tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: I think the mindset is good. From what we have seen the last couple days and even before that, even before the last game against Bangladesh and the way the guys have actually prepared and done incredible things in that aspect of it, I think the mood has not dropped in that scenario.

As individuals, as I said, you're going to be disappointed in how things would have transpired, individually for some guys as well in terms of performance. I can safely say that, yes, things have not gone as we would have liked, but the pride that these guys have, obviously, they want to still come out and give a good accounting of themselves.

For us the mood is pretty good, the atmosphere, the camaraderie within the camp is good. Still a lot of smiles on the faces, and guys still trying to enjoy the moment. At the end of it we have an opportunity, and we still have an opportunity to play cricket, so no need to be disappointed. Yes, we are result oriented environment or from a worldwide perspective everything that we do is based on results, and the results have not gone our way or how we would have liked it to go, and that we accept and that we know. There's no secret about that.

The mood is up. Guys are up. Again, we have another practice session again tonight, and heading into the game tomorrow.

Q. I spoke to a former player who was part of the 2016 World Cup team, and he said back then -- you were there, as well, that there was a lot of togetherness and the mental toughness was there in 2016. Would you say that the situation is the same with this team?

KIERON POLLARD: Well, I don't know which player you're speaking about, first of all, in 2016. I had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury. Whatever happened on the ground, I can't actually speak for that. But what I can safely say is that the togetherness that we have here is far more important and is very, very high.

I think the guys are going in the right direction. We have been having conversations of how we want to get better as a team and as individuals, and we are conversating about how the tournament has gone for different teams to see if we can put some of the thoughts together in our game.

In terms of that aspect, as I can safely say, and I've said it before, camaraderie is good, mental toughness, guys being together. I don't see anything contrary to what maybe you're asking. I don't know what happened in 2016, but what we know happened in 2016 is obviously the guys won the tournament, and that's actually going to be the benchmark of a lot of different things.

For us, it's not any of those peripheral things; it's just a matter of we haven't been able to get it together as a batting unit on the cricket field.

Q. What will be key for tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: Again, what are the keys is that every individual play their roles. We have been clear on roles and responsibilities and flexibility, and I think it's just a matter of guys doing that because if guys play their roles and play exactly what is needed, as one person mentioned before, we have a very, very good team on paper. But not being able to play a role and not taking responsibility and not being accountable to what the team requires at a point in time, from a batting perspective I just need to be clear, we have not done justice to our talents. As I say, there's no secret about it, and hopefully we can get it right, and we have no other option now but to do it and have to do it pretty quickly, as well.

Q. Just going back to the last game against Bangladesh, can you just clarify when you sort of picked up your injury? Was it during that batting innings, or was it something that had been niggling you previously?

KIERON POLLARD: I know there's been a lot of chatter of what transpired. It was just when Shakib was bowling, that over. If you rewind the tape and you go back, I chipped on the wicket to get a single, and there and then I felt it. At the end of that over, the physio actually came out to see me, and we had a conversation and chatted on what actually happened and what was going on. I tried to see if I could have continued in that next over, and I realised that I couldn't, and I immediately informed the umpire of what has taken place and what is going to happen.

I always look at life and especially cricket that is bigger than one individual. I could have tried at that point in time to just stay there, let the ego and everything get the better of myself, but in anything that you do, team always comes first, and we had guys in the shed who we believed could have done the job maybe better than I could at that point in time being struggling with a niggling injury. That's exactly what happened.

All the speculations as to everything else that has come out and people are saying and whatever, they have it. Everything was done above board. An umpire was informed and everything took place there and then. Being retired hurt is part of cricket. I retired hurt, and I was able to return because I retired hurt due to a niggling injury.

Q. Just when you did return in that last over, so obviously you felt okay to be able to face a few balls in that last over?

KIERON POLLARD: What's the question?

Q. The question was so obviously you retired hurt in the 13th over, but you came back in the 20th over. By the 20th over you're saying that you felt well enough to come back just to face sort of three or four balls?

KIERON POLLARD: Again, when you look at it, you have an opportunity to return as a batter if you retire hurt. At that point in time I felt a niggle, I went in, I could have gotten strapped up, took painkillers, doctor would have seen me. In that period, that was all of about a half an hour, 35 minutes.

I don't know what you're trying to get at, but what I am saying and what I told you is exactly what happened and what transpired, so it doesn't matter what I think, what you feel or what happened; this is what happened in terms of within the rules and regulations I was allowed to; I was struggling with an injury. Again, if you want further clarification if I was really injured or not, I'm sure you can get in contact with the Cricket West Indies medical department, as well, and if they're allowed - I don't think so - to show scans, you can actually see face off. So again, that's not speculating as to this is what happened and totally it does happen in how many games of cricket that are played in a period of time.

Q. You mentioned that the batsmen had been struggling; I just wanted to know because we have noticed that a number of the other teams are also struggling, as well. How much have the conditions in Dubai and whatnot played in the performances so far?

KIERON POLLARD: Again, when you look at it sometimes you want the best of both worlds. The conditions in all honesty, some of the pitches have been good, and some have been wickets or pitches where there's something in for the bowlers and the batters, and we just as batters need to adjust. Because of the nature sometimes of T20 cricket, you don't have the time to adjust, or by the time you take to adjust, X amount of overs is gone and you might have to take a chance and then when you decide to take a chance you get out.

So I just think it's a matter of assessing it as quickly as possible and trying to play the right shots as quickly as possible.

So the pitches have not been outrageously bad; it has been good cricket and wickets, but it has been challenging. As I said, it's not only us as a team that has struggled but different players, world-class players around the entire World Cup have struggled, as well. But they have just found the rhythm to actually compound everything together and get a respectable total, whereas from our point of view, we haven't been able to cross that 143 barrier, and then sometimes that's just not enough at that point in time.

Again, it's just a mixture of different things and assessment and understanding what is needed at that point in time, and the teams that have done well have assessed it pretty nicely and they're able to post big totals or if they're chasing a small total sometimes it's easier to chase a smaller total and post a smaller total.

As you can see throughout the tournament, the teams batting second clearly had an advantage because they know what to expect and they know how to position themselves in order to win the game.

It's a collective thing, and as I said, as a team, we tried to work it out with our individual talent and tried to get persons in the right places to get that job done. We haven't done it, but 142 in the last game was good enough. We were able to get over the line, which is a win. Are we entirely happy? Obviously not, but we'll continue to work hard and try to overcome whatever is in front of us.

Q. Looking at the game against Sri Lanka tomorrow, we know Hasaranga will be a challenge, so do you feel the way the batsmen played Shamsi in the South Africa game gives you encouragement coming up against Hasaranga tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: Again, yeah, I think we played Shamsi pretty well that game against South Africa, and he has been a thorn in us in the last series that we played in the Caribbean. Again, guys have gone home and done their homeworks and get an opportunity to work out in their minds how they want to play him, and it's the same thing for Hasaranga. Obviously he has been phenomenal for Sri Lanka for a long period of time even in this World Cup, just getting a hat trick the other day, as well. He has done well against us in the past.

So he is definitely a trump card when it comes to their bowling lineup, but as I said, different players and different persons have different ways of combatting situations, but as a team we have chatted about how we want to go about batting certain individuals and what we need to do at certain periods of time, and again, hopefully can come through in this next game.

But again, it's not only about Hasaranga. We do have to beat him that game, but you have to think about the Kumaras and the Chameeras and all these guys. Everyone has a skill and a talent in their own right. We're coming up against the Sri Lanka cricket team and we're looking forward to playing a good solid game of cricket against that team.

Q. Tomorrow you will not be facing the guy you hit the six sixes since he's in the squad. In that way are you kind of disappointed you won't be facing him, or are you just happy to be Sri Lanka and Hasaranga tomorrow?

KIERON POLLARD: Well, if there's one thing I can say, we can do 36 runs in an over, right, the way we've been going. I could personally do that, as well. But again, just like everything else, that's in the past. Again, that's long gone and long forgotten, as well, because of what the nature of the beast that is happening in front of us, which is a World Cup.

Again, in that same match he got a hat trick. Dananjaya was my teammate once in Mumbai. So yes, obviously disappointed not being in Sri Lanka's squad, but as I said, we could really do with 36 runs right now in one over, but having said that, we just take it as it comes and look forward to the challenge.

If there's one thing I can safely say for myself is that we don't back down from a challenge. We don't hide from certain things. We accept when things have gone badly, and we also accept the applause when we're doing well.

Me personally, I look forward to the match tomorrow. I look forward to hopefully getting some runs under my belt for the team, getting West Indies to a very, very good total if we're batting first or chasing down whatever is in front of us, and I'm sure all the other guys, as well, are looking forward to that.

We accept everything that has transpired on the chin. We take it. We're not disappointed. We're not going to sit here and be arrogant about what has transpired, but having said that we have the opportunity to still play another game of cricket and win another game of cricket because long after us, cricket is still going to be played, so this continues to be the foundations and the stepping-stones for the future, as well.

Q. My question to you is how has your experience in the different kind of leagues and different kind of pitches has grown you as a player and a captain?

KIERON POLLARD: Yeah, the experience of playing all around the world obviously is going to be there. It's good that we are able to play cricket and get an opportunity to play cricket around the world and have sort of familiar sort of conditions to what we're going to play in a World Cup. We have been here over the last six to eight weeks or something with the IPL leading into this and we still haven't mastered the conditions. To me that's a good thing; it means you always have something to work on and always something to challenge you as an individual. No matter how familiar you are with a certain pitch or country or continent, there's still work to be done for you as an individual.

I think that's a good challenge and that's a challenge that we accept as cricketers.

Again, in a big tournament, everyone, the world is watching. You have to be able to assess and you have to do it quickly. Some have done it, some have not, but we still have an opportunity to try to challenge ourselves in every aspect.