West Indies limited-overs captain Kieran Pollard is banking on his big hitters to deliver in the five-match T20 series against South Africa which bowls off today from 2pm.
A number of veteran players are included in the West Indies 13-man squad for the first two matches of the series to bolster the host’s chances of a series win.
Among those is their leading run-scorer in the format, Chris Gayle.
The 41-year-old has a strike rate of 140 to go along with his two centuries and 13 fifties.
Like Gayle, sought after T20 league specialist Andre Russell, is also included.
The 33-year has scored over 6000 runs and taken over 300 wickets in T20s and West Indies would be expecting him to come good with both bat and ball if selected today.
His T20I record is not as impressive as his domestic record but with a strike rate of 151, Russell has shown his ability to
unsettle bowlers and take the game away from opponents.
Another veteran of the game in the mix is death bowling bully, Dwayne `DJ’ Bravo.
With over 500 T20 wickets under his belt and a useful lower order batting option, the former Trinbago Knight Riders captain is among the ranks.
This would be the first time the trio, along with skipper Pollard, will be playing T20I since 2015.
Coincidentally the match was also against South Africa and the West Indies went on to chase down a record at total at the time of 232.
In fact, this is the first time the two sides will face each other in over five years with West Indies holding a 3-2 edge from their last five encounters.
Pollard spoke about the team’s big hitting ability during the pre-match conference and considered it to be the strength of the side.
“It is no secret, it is our power hitting ability, you know our ability to clear the boundaries and use our strength and our power, that is our biggest strength and we continue to harness our strengths and work on our weaknesses,” the captain related.
Having said that, Pollard was cognizant of his side not rotating the strike as well as they should but was hopeful in time it comes into their game.
Shimron Hetmyer has not found a place in the 13-man squad joining the likes of left-arm seamer, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr., and Akeal Hosein who have all missed out.
Rookie off-spinner, Kevin Sinclair and Fabien Allen who bowls left-arm orthodox and is an explosive lower order option should make in the XI along with seamer, Obed McCoy in the absence of Cottrell and Thomas.
South Africa are ranked sixth while the defending T20 World Champions are 10th but Pollard pointed out that a lot has changed since they lifted the title in 2016.
He argued that it was not so much about the rankings but how the West Indies plays and how they intend to play in the future.
Labeling the South Africans as favourites for the series, Pollard reckoned that the big picture for his side is building on what was established in the last series against Sri Lanka gearing to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, with just eight T20 internationals under his belt, Temba Bavuma has been given the responsibility to lead the visitors for the first time. While he missed out on the Test series due to an injury, he reckons he is ready for the job. However, he will have his work cut out for him with South Africa losing their last five series.
“I am ready for the T20 series it has been a frustrating mentally tough time in the last two weeks or so trying to deal with the injuries and unfortunate incidents that have come my way…I am happy I am fit and ready for the upcoming T20 series…,” Bavuma said during a pre-match conference yesterday.
The South African skipper related that his unit is full of confidence with a number of players coming into the T20I series with success in the Test series which they won 2-0.
Nevertheless, Bavuma is wary of the imposing threat the two-time World T20 champions pose to any side but is looking to use this trial to get a gauge of some of the players ahead of the major tournament later this year.
“As a team we had various conversations and discussions, we’ve exhausted them in terms of the type of cricket we would like to play and now we have an opportunity to really test all of that against a really strong T20 outfit, West Indies are an obvious favourite when it comes to the T20 World Cup and I guess when it comes to us we are fortunate to test our skills against their skills and I guess it will give a clearer picture and understanding of the guys who will do what is needed to be done come the World Cup,” he said.
