Kieron Pollard
Encyclopedia
Kieron Adrian Pollard is an international cricket
er who plays for the West Indies. An aggressive all-rounder, Pollard provides medium-fast
pace bowling and big-hitting from the middle-order
. After shining during the 2009 Champions League Twenty20
, he was signed by both the Southern Redbacks
and Somerset
for their domestic Twenty20 campaigns. He was the joint highest paid player in the 2010 Indian Premier League
, playing for Mumbai Indians
.
, Trinidad
where he was raised, along with two younger sisters, in a poor home by his single mother. Speaking about it, Pollard reflects "It was pretty tough, it wasn't ideal getting up and your mum say 'We only have X amount of money'." After representing Trinidad and Tobago in the 2005 TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Challenge, he was selected as part of the West Indies Under-19 cricket team
to tour Pakistan
. Pollard top-scored for the West Indies in the first youth One Day International (ODI), scoring 53 runs off 49 balls. Pollard made another half-century in the second match, but didn't manage to make double figures in either of last two games. He was named in the West Indies squad for the 2006 U/19 Cricket World Cup, held in Sri Lanka
, where he only managed to make 19–runs in his four innings, though he did manage to take two wickets in a defeat to Australia.
During the 2006 English season he came to England to play for Haxey CC in Lincolnshire; he was meant to play the whole season but was called back to play for Trinidad and Tobago after just one month. Pollard made his senior debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford Twenty20
against the Cayman Islands
in July 2006. He finished the tournament with a respectable return of six wickets, and starred in the semi-final against Nevis, scoring 83 runs off just 38 balls, an innings which included 7 sixes to book Trinidad and Tobago's place in the final. He made his first-class debut six months later against Barbados
, and marked the occasion with a century. As in the Twenty20, his innings contained a large number of boundaries, with 86 of his 126 runs coming from either fours or sixes. A score of 46 not out
on his List A debut ensured that Pollard was in the selector's minds for the upcoming World Cup
, and he described it as "a dream come true" when he was selected in the provisional 30-man squad for the tournament. Pollard's "dream run" continued with half-centuries in both four-day and 50-over matches against Guyana, followed by his second first-class century, coming against the Leeward Islands. Against Jamaica
, Pollard showed his bowling ability, claiming four wickets in his seven overs to claim his fifth man of the match award in his 15th major cricket match. Trinidad and Tobago remained unbeaten in the 2006–07 KFC Cup, beating Windward Islands
in the final to claim the trophy. Pollard finished as the competition's leading run-scorer, making 261 runs from his seven innings at an average
of over 40.
, keeping more experienced players out of the team. Pollard played in both warm-up matches for the West Indies, making 14 runs and claiming two wickets against Kenya, and scoring two runs in a heavy defeat to India a few days later. He wasn't selected to play in the initial group-stage, eventually making his debut in a 'high-stakes game' against South Africa in the super-eights stage of the competition. Pollard's selection was one of a number of questions raised about Lara
's captaincy during the match, which the West Indies lost by 67 runs. Pollard bowled three wicket-less overs in the match, and scored 10 runs in the West Indies unsuccessful run-chase.
from the West Indies performance squad in 2007–08 was described as "baffling" by Tony Cozier
, describing how the pair "had been seemingly identified as among those for the future but have quickly been shunted aside." Pollard was disappointing as Trinidad and Tobago won the 2007–08 Stanford Twenty20, averaging nine from his three innings.
Pollard was recalled to the West Indies ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka. The match was rained off after 18.2 overs of the West Indian run-chase with Pollard not required to bat. He retained his place in the squad for the home series against Australia, but after scores of 11 and 0 in the first two matches, he was dropped for the final three.
Despite his poor form in the previous season's Stanford Twenty20, Pollard was named as part of the initial 32-member Stanford Superstars Twenty20 squad. The squad would provide the starters for the US$20 million winner-takes-all match against England later in the year. After a series of practice matches, Pollard was included in the team for the warm-up match against his Trinidad and Tobago side, where he made 24 runs off 14 balls and claimed the wicket of captain Daren Ganga
. He followed this up with a nine-ball 27 against Middlesex
, including three consecutive sixes in the last over. In the final, Pollard claimed the wickets of Andrew Flintoff
and Luke Wright
to help limit England to a total of 99, which Super Stars openers Chris Gayle
and Andre Fletcher
chased down in 12.4 overs.
of 14.22. An all-round performance against Jamaica in the semi-finals, in which he took three wickets and made 76, earnt Trinidad and Tobago a place in the final, and Pollard the man of the match award.
In the 2009 Champions league T-20 for Trinidad & Tobago, Pollard hit 54 runs in just 18 balls in the 15th match against New South Wales in Hyderabad. This earned the man of the match award and his side a crucial win. His display of hitting was so impressive that NSW approached Pollard after the game and attempted to sign him for themselves.
Pollard also represents the South Australian Redbacks in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
. He also signed for Somerset County Cricket Club
for the 2010 Friends Provident t20
.
and the Big Bash
led to him being one of the most sought after players at the 2010 IPL auction. After some aggressive bidding, the Chennai Super Kings
, Kolkata Knight Riders
, Mumbai Indians
and Royal Challengers Bangalore
all bid the maximum allowed; $750,000. A 'silent-tiebreaker' was won by the Mumbai Indians, which retained him in 2011 IPL
.
for the Mumbai Indians
, the West Indian all-rounder
was picked in the West Indian squad for 2010 ICC World Twenty20
.
for Somerset, helping them to the final of the competition on August 14, 2010. He scored 354 runs during the competition at 32.18 - the second highest Somerset batting average - including two half centuries at a strike rate of 175.24 runs per 100 balls. He also took 29 wickets at 15.10, second among all Somerset's bowlers. He took an impressive catch on the boundary in the semi final against Nottinghamshire, and then scored 22 from seven balls in the final match against Hampshire, including two sixes and a four, before Dominic Cork
injured him with a bouncer that required hospital treatment.
On the back of Pollard's domestic performance he was offered a central contract which he turned down because that would force him to be available for West Indies selection all the time and Pollard wanted to play Twenty20 cricket as well. Despite this his good performances meant that he was selected for the West Indies in the ODI and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka as several high profile names such as Denesh Ramdin
and Ramnaresh Sarwan
had been dropped.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who plays for the West Indies. An aggressive all-rounder, Pollard provides medium-fast
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
pace bowling and big-hitting from the middle-order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
. After shining during the 2009 Champions League Twenty20
2009 Champions League Twenty20
The 2009 Champions League Twenty20 was the first edition of the Champions League Twenty20, an international club cricket tournament. It was held in India between 8 October and 23 October 2009 and featured 12 domestic teams from Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and...
, he was signed by both the Southern Redbacks
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
and Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
for their domestic Twenty20 campaigns. He was the joint highest paid player in the 2010 Indian Premier League
2010 Indian Premier League
The 2010 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 3 or the 2010 IPL, was the third season of the Indian Premier League, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2007. The tournament was hosted by India and had an estimated television audience of more than 200 million...
, playing for Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians , is a franchise cricket team representing Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team is one of the eight founding members of the IPL in 2008. Mumbai Indians are currently led by Sachin Tendulkar, who is the Icon Player for the team and is coached by Robin Singh...
.
Early life and career
Pollard was born in TacariguaTacarigua
Tacarigua is a town in the East-West Corridor of Trinidad and Tobago, located east of Tunapuna and north of Trincity. It is on the banks of the Tacarigua River....
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
where he was raised, along with two younger sisters, in a poor home by his single mother. Speaking about it, Pollard reflects "It was pretty tough, it wasn't ideal getting up and your mum say 'We only have X amount of money'." After representing Trinidad and Tobago in the 2005 TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Challenge, he was selected as part of the West Indies Under-19 cricket team
West Indian U-19 cricket team
The West Indian Under-19 cricket team have been playing official Under-19 test matches since 1974. Future international players to have represented the team include Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Courtney Walsh....
to tour Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Pollard top-scored for the West Indies in the first youth One Day International (ODI), scoring 53 runs off 49 balls. Pollard made another half-century in the second match, but didn't manage to make double figures in either of last two games. He was named in the West Indies squad for the 2006 U/19 Cricket World Cup, held in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, where he only managed to make 19–runs in his four innings, though he did manage to take two wickets in a defeat to Australia.
During the 2006 English season he came to England to play for Haxey CC in Lincolnshire; he was meant to play the whole season but was called back to play for Trinidad and Tobago after just one month. Pollard made his senior debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford Twenty20
Stanford 20/20
The Stanford 20/20 Tournament was a cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda and the same place the year after...
against the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands cricket team
The Cayman Islands national cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Cayman Islands in international cricket matches...
in July 2006. He finished the tournament with a respectable return of six wickets, and starred in the semi-final against Nevis, scoring 83 runs off just 38 balls, an innings which included 7 sixes to book Trinidad and Tobago's place in the final. He made his first-class debut six months later against Barbados
Barbados national cricket team
The Barbadian cricket team is the representative first class cricket team of Barbados.It does not take part in any international competitions , but rather in inter-regional competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, and the best players may be...
, and marked the occasion with a century. As in the Twenty20, his innings contained a large number of boundaries, with 86 of his 126 runs coming from either fours or sixes. A score of 46 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
on his List A debut ensured that Pollard was in the selector's minds for the upcoming World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
, and he described it as "a dream come true" when he was selected in the provisional 30-man squad for the tournament. Pollard's "dream run" continued with half-centuries in both four-day and 50-over matches against Guyana, followed by his second first-class century, coming against the Leeward Islands. Against Jamaica
Jamaica national cricket team
The Jamaica national cricket team is the representative first-class cricket team of Jamaica.-History:The team's history lasts back to 1895, when they played three matches against a touring side from England led by Slade Lucas, but because of the distance to the other cricketing countries, Jamaica...
, Pollard showed his bowling ability, claiming four wickets in his seven overs to claim his fifth man of the match award in his 15th major cricket match. Trinidad and Tobago remained unbeaten in the 2006–07 KFC Cup, beating Windward Islands
Windward Islands cricket team
The Windward Islands cricket team is a cricket team representing the member countries of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control. The team plays in the West Indies regional tournament....
in the final to claim the trophy. Pollard finished as the competition's leading run-scorer, making 261 runs from his seven innings at an average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of over 40.
2007 World Cup
The impressive start to Pollard's career prompted his 'surprise selection' as part of the 15-man squad to compete in the 2007 Cricket World Cup2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, keeping more experienced players out of the team. Pollard played in both warm-up matches for the West Indies, making 14 runs and claiming two wickets against Kenya, and scoring two runs in a heavy defeat to India a few days later. He wasn't selected to play in the initial group-stage, eventually making his debut in a 'high-stakes game' against South Africa in the super-eights stage of the competition. Pollard's selection was one of a number of questions raised about Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
's captaincy during the match, which the West Indies lost by 67 runs. Pollard bowled three wicket-less overs in the match, and scored 10 runs in the West Indies unsuccessful run-chase.
Lucrative summer
Although named in the provisional 30-man squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, Pollard failed to make the cut for the tournament. The absence of Pollard and Lendl SimmonsLendl Simmons
Lendl Mark Platter Simmons is a West Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman, an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler and a part-time wicket-keeper....
from the West Indies performance squad in 2007–08 was described as "baffling" by Tony Cozier
Tony Cozier
Anthony "Tony" Cozier has been a cricket writer and commentator for West Indian cricket since 1958.Cozier is the son of Barbados journalist, Jimmy Cozier and he studied journalism at Carleton University, Ottawa...
, describing how the pair "had been seemingly identified as among those for the future but have quickly been shunted aside." Pollard was disappointing as Trinidad and Tobago won the 2007–08 Stanford Twenty20, averaging nine from his three innings.
Pollard was recalled to the West Indies ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka. The match was rained off after 18.2 overs of the West Indian run-chase with Pollard not required to bat. He retained his place in the squad for the home series against Australia, but after scores of 11 and 0 in the first two matches, he was dropped for the final three.
Despite his poor form in the previous season's Stanford Twenty20, Pollard was named as part of the initial 32-member Stanford Superstars Twenty20 squad. The squad would provide the starters for the US$20 million winner-takes-all match against England later in the year. After a series of practice matches, Pollard was included in the team for the warm-up match against his Trinidad and Tobago side, where he made 24 runs off 14 balls and claimed the wicket of captain Daren Ganga
Daren Ganga
Daren Ganga is a West Indian cricketer of East Indian descent. He is a right-handed top order batsman and part-time right-arm offbreak bowler. After debuting as a 19 year old he has found himself in and out of the West Indies team, playing regularly for and at times captaining the West Indies A...
. He followed this up with a nine-ball 27 against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, including three consecutive sixes in the last over. In the final, Pollard claimed the wickets of Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
and Luke Wright
Luke Wright (cricketer)
Luke James Wright is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler. Born in Grantham, Wright joined Sussex in 2004, having started his career at Leicestershire. He was named in England's squad for the Under-19 World Cup in 2004, and joined the International...
to help limit England to a total of 99, which Super Stars openers Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle
Christopher Henry "Chris" Gayle is a Jamaican cricketer who currently plays international cricket for the West Indies. He captained the West Indies' side from 2007 to 2010. He plays domestic cricket for Jamaica, and has also represented Worcestershire, the Western Warriors and the Kolkata Knight...
and Andre Fletcher
Andre Fletcher
Andre Fletcher is a West Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and often keeps wicket.Fletcher played for the West Indian cricket team in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka...
chased down in 12.4 overs.
Later career
The 2008–09 West Indies Cricket Board Cup saw an improvement in Pollard's bowling, as he claimed nine wickets in the competition with a bowling averageBowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 14.22. An all-round performance against Jamaica in the semi-finals, in which he took three wickets and made 76, earnt Trinidad and Tobago a place in the final, and Pollard the man of the match award.
In the 2009 Champions league T-20 for Trinidad & Tobago, Pollard hit 54 runs in just 18 balls in the 15th match against New South Wales in Hyderabad. This earned the man of the match award and his side a crucial win. His display of hitting was so impressive that NSW approached Pollard after the game and attempted to sign him for themselves.
Pollard also represents the South Australian Redbacks in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The competition was organised by Cricket Australia, and sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC. The competition was replaced by the Big Bash League as Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition after the 2010–11...
. He also signed for Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
for the 2010 Friends Provident t20
2010 Friends Provident t20
The 2010 Friends Provident t20 tournament was the inaugural Friends Provident t20 Twenty20 cricket competition for the England and Wales first-class counties. The competition ran from 1 June 2010 until the finals day at The Rose Bowl on 14 August 2010...
.
Indian Premier League
Pollard's impressive performance in the 2009 Champions League Twenty202009 Champions League Twenty20
The 2009 Champions League Twenty20 was the first edition of the Champions League Twenty20, an international club cricket tournament. It was held in India between 8 October and 23 October 2009 and featured 12 domestic teams from Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and...
and the Big Bash
KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The competition was organised by Cricket Australia, and sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC. The competition was replaced by the Big Bash League as Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition after the 2010–11...
led to him being one of the most sought after players at the 2010 IPL auction. After some aggressive bidding, the Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings is a franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that plays in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team is currently captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand cricketer. The team's home ground is the M. A...
, Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. Sourav Ganguly led the team in IPL1 and IPL3, Brendon McCullum in IPL2, and Gautam Gambhir in IPL4...
, Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians , is a franchise cricket team representing Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team is one of the eight founding members of the IPL in 2008. Mumbai Indians are currently led by Sachin Tendulkar, who is the Icon Player for the team and is coached by Robin Singh...
and Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is a cricket team based in Bangalore that plays in the Indian Premier League and currently lead by Daniel Vettori. The team is owned by Dr...
all bid the maximum allowed; $750,000. A 'silent-tiebreaker' was won by the Mumbai Indians, which retained him in 2011 IPL
2011 Indian Premier League
The 2011 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 4 or the IPL 2011, was the fourth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition conceived by Lalit Modi in 2007. The tournament was hosted in India and the opening and closing ceremonies were...
.
ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010
After his impressive performance at Indian Premier LeagueIndian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
for the Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians , is a franchise cricket team representing Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team is one of the eight founding members of the IPL in 2008. Mumbai Indians are currently led by Sachin Tendulkar, who is the Icon Player for the team and is coached by Robin Singh...
, the West Indian all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
was picked in the West Indian squad for 2010 ICC World Twenty20
2010 ICC World Twenty20
-------------------------------------------------Group A:---------Group B:---------Group C:---------Group D:---------Super 8s:...
.
Domestic 2010 season
Pollard had a successful 2010 Friends Provident t202010 Friends Provident t20
The 2010 Friends Provident t20 tournament was the inaugural Friends Provident t20 Twenty20 cricket competition for the England and Wales first-class counties. The competition ran from 1 June 2010 until the finals day at The Rose Bowl on 14 August 2010...
for Somerset, helping them to the final of the competition on August 14, 2010. He scored 354 runs during the competition at 32.18 - the second highest Somerset batting average - including two half centuries at a strike rate of 175.24 runs per 100 balls. He also took 29 wickets at 15.10, second among all Somerset's bowlers. He took an impressive catch on the boundary in the semi final against Nottinghamshire, and then scored 22 from seven balls in the final match against Hampshire, including two sixes and a four, before Dominic Cork
Dominic Cork
Dominic Gerald Cork is a former English cricketer. Cork is a right-handed lower-order batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium, and is renowned for his swing and seam control. Making his début in first-class cricket for Derbyshire in 1990, he was selected to play for England in 1992, aged 21. He...
injured him with a bouncer that required hospital treatment.
On the back of Pollard's domestic performance he was offered a central contract which he turned down because that would force him to be available for West Indies selection all the time and Pollard wanted to play Twenty20 cricket as well. Despite this his good performances meant that he was selected for the West Indies in the ODI and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka as several high profile names such as Denesh Ramdin
Denesh Ramdin
Denesh Ramdin is a West Indian cricketer of Indian descent. He is a right-handed batsman who generally occupies the position of wicketkeeper.He is seen by selectors and fans as a replacement in terms of playing style for Jeff Dujon...
and Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan is a West Indian cricketer of Indo-Guyanese origin and a member of the West Indies cricket team....
had been dropped.