BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Darren Bravo has hailed Kieron Pollard as a “game winner” and a “leader” and said his presence in the West Indies camp has been invaluable.
Pollard had been controversially omitted from the one-day squad since the ill-tempered, abandoned tour of India two years ago and only returned to the squad this month for the ongoing Tri-Nations Series.
With West Indies slumping at 21 for four in the fifth over against South Africa on Friday, he stroked an important 62 in a 156-run, fifth wicket stand with Bravo who hit 102.
“We were under a lot of pressure … but I think the experience of Kieron Pollard really played a big part in this game,” said Bravo, who like Pollard, is Trinidadian.
“He talked to me every single ball and we were communicating very nicely out there so it was good to put us in that position from where we were. He’s definitely one of our leaders. He has that sort of presence in the dressing room.”
Pollard also hammered a half-century in the opening game of the tournament in Guyana as West Indies defeated South Africa by four wickets.
A seasoned T20 campaigner in all the world’s major leagues, Pollard has also brought plenty of intensity along with extensive experience to the Windies campaign.
“He’s played a lot with these guys at the IPL and at T20 level and he’s always willing to share information,” Bravo pointed out.
“He knows them inside out. He definitely is a game-winner, a game changer for us … and it’s nice to have him back.”
Bravo was voted Man-of-the-Match for his third one-day hundred which helped fire West Indies to a 100-run victory over the Proteas, and helped them clinch a place in today’s final against Australia.
The knock was his first triple figure score in two years and he said he had found inspiration from watching YouTube videos of legendary batsman Brian Lara the night before.
“I haven’t spoken to him for some time now but last night before I went to bed I looked at some of his clips on YouTube,” the left-hander revealed.
“That’s my boy, that’s my role model, so when I’m struggling I always go back to him. If I’m not speaking to him, I’ll always go back and look at him on YouTube and get that sort of inspiration to keep believing in myself.”
