PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Fast bowler Mervyn Dillon is seriously mulling over a comeback, five years after last playing for West Indies.
A veteran of 38 Tests and 108 One-Day Internationals, Dillon is currently assisting the Trinidad and Tobago Twenty20 squad in their preparation for the Caribbean T20 competition but says he has not ruled out a return.
“I have been playing all season with UTT (University of Trinidad and Tobago). Looking at my fitness and my performance during the season, I still feel that I can but that is something that the selectors will have to take up. We discussed my comeback but that is still pending,” said Dillon. The 36-year-old last played for West Indies in an ODI against Australia Down Under in January, 2005, before losing favour with selectors.
And while he played for T&T as recently as two years ago, he has not actively featured on the regional cricketing landscape.
“I am just here assisting Kelvin (Williams) as sort of the assistant bowling coach kind of thing,” said Dillon.
“At this time I am just helping out with the younger bowlers to try and give them an idea or so, to pass on some of my experience of playing.”
Trinidad and Tobago will start as one of the favourites to win the CT20 after winning the last regional T20 tournament, held in 2008.
They subsequently qualified for the Club Champions League where they played unbeaten to reach the final before losing to New South Wales.
Dillon said T&T had a great chance of winning the tournament but needed to play strong cricket.
“Consistency is a problem we have through out the West Indies and if you look around in the not too distant past, we have been one of the more consistent teams,” he noted.
“The guys are keen you have great bunch of fellows, a great bunch of talent so you look forward to great things from them. Like I said to (captain) Daren (Ganga), we are not just going to turn up and win this tournament. We have to play cricket.
“Once we play cricket to our ability or any where close to that we will come out champions easily.”
