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Can we get TWO half centuries from you while batting in the top 5 this series?? We would like you to lead from the front (FOR WEST INDIES) once in a while WHEN IT MATTERS MOST. You, Jason Holder and Darren Bravo are the most ‘experienced’ players on the team. Jason has done ok so far this series WITH THE BALL(I am still not satisfied with his progression). If you are not up to it, then STOP stifling ODEAN SMITH!!! Both he and Shepherd are hitting better than you at the moment against both spin and pace. Do not break their confidence and stop their momentum. Why was ODEAN not given at least one over to bowl??!! Shape up or ship out Polly.

In reply to mikelegend

I was not bothered by Smith not bowling in the match. He bowls too many wides and is not exactly Mr. Economical. The problem I had with Pollard yesterday was that he failed once again with the bat and that is not good enough. His bowling was decent and he did get a wicket. However, his strength is SUPPOSED to be his batting. He needs to lead from the front as captain and shoulder some of the blame for the losses.

In reply to Windiesfan78
Smith is playing as a bowling allrounder, He is in the team so he can learn and get the experience, if you are not going to bowl don't play him. why was pollard bowling 4 overs and Smith none.

In reply to Leggully

. why was pollard bowling 4 overs and Smith none. then batting ahead of him as well.

Captain Polly doesn't trust Agent Smith in terms of his bowling, it is clear. What Pollard needs to do is concentrate on his batting. It has been abysmal of late.

In reply to Windiesfan78

Smith was injured

Pollard is the Captain and he is Trini and many cannot accept that

The guy is in demand all over the world yet trini haters saying drop him

He did well in the first match against Ireland

In the first England T20 he did not have to bat. Therefore he failed in one match. He bowled well though

And you saying drop him?

We really are our own worst enemy

In reply to pariaman

In reply to pariaman

Shop being thin skinned. Pollard as a top order batsman with loads of experience, has been an abysmal failure with the bat. This is his third straight failure. The problem is that Pollard lacks the batting skills necessary to bat so high in the order plus he can't bat against spin.
So once he comes to bat , is spin in his tail. And as most of the opposing teams know that, don't expect anything much from Pollard. Occasionally he will score some runs but he really unbalances the team and should be phased out.

I'm hoping though that he proves me wrong and makes a decent score in each of the next 3 innings

In reply to pariaman

That's because Mc Brine did not play


Partner you may not know it yet but Polly has been found out.

Spinners all over the world jostling to bowl at him.

In reply to Headley

I am not saying no but the evidence does not suggests that at the moment

Lets wait after this series before we pass judgement

In reply to Headley

Must have been someone impersonating McBrine.

Let them talk!

In reply to sgtdjones

We need a spade to remove Pollard from the captaincy. In his mind, he is the best thing since slice bread.

In reply to googley

He is the best thing since slice bread

In any other country he would be captain and the whole nation would be behind him

However here in the West Indies we cannot see beyond petty nation rivalry

Keep at it Pollard you days will come

England will be defeated in this series

Do not be afraid to reward Trinis if they deserve it

In reply to Andy99

I should have said McBrine did not bowl at Polly until he was well settled.

Actually you're right. That is why Polly got off to a start.

In reply to Headley

Give the man a break

Do not just follow the lead of people like the Doctor

In reply to pariaman

beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder





If he was living in India his house would have been burned down already.

His selection as WI captain explains the state of WI cricket. His handling of the young players demonstrate he does not know how to rebuild a team.

In reply to googley

Hosein , Smith and Sherperd and the remerging King will say different

Pooran is also improving as a captain in waiting

WI people never accepts trinis as leaders

In reply to pariaman

Tell me Pariaman, from your viewpoint, how is Polly doing against spin bowling?

In reply to Headley

Scroll up and see how he dealt with McBrine

In reply to Headley
Pollard does not have nearly as much trouble against off spin as he has against wrist spinners. But the same can be said about our other batsmen. Pollard hit 6 sixes in one over against a Sri Lankan off spinner a few years ago. Pollard should be batting lower down the order against England because they target him with Rashid whenever he bats early.

In reply to Walco

Walco, you're right.
When I was a youngster I used to put on my pants 2 feet at a time too.

Nearly 20 years ago I saw Polly hit his first century against Bim at North Point. The man was picking up the ball early like Sobers or Viv. As Adonijah said (about Windwards) the fielders were mistaken for small farmers in the area. But that was nearly 20 years ago.

Putting Shep in front of him would make a lot of sense for all kind of reasons. Do you see Polly doing that?

In reply to Walco

Oh Nooooooooooooo

Halliwell

Did you see the above?

Me tinks walco is ill?

He is a closet Polly fan.....

In reply to pariaman

That really does not matter if you are looking at things in a balanced way

In reply to Headley

Interesting....hmmmmmmmmmmmm

In reply to sgtdjones

Lol we should not try to bend facts to suit our point of views

In reply to sgtdjones

Only when they get unsettled in 4 consecutive innings.

In reply to Headley
I'm actually wondering if Polly is the right guy to nurture this talent and help mold this young team. His non-use of Smith was disappointing. I saw where Smith supposedly was sick yesterday, but that does not explain what happened on Saturday. And if Smith was sick, why was he picked or why was he on the field?

In reply to Headley

Thanks, I will add such to my Cricket dictionary



I reckon India should bench Kohli , he is having a few unsettled innings?...Thanks, I got ya.

In reply to sgtdjones

I calls em likes I sees em Sarge

In reply to Walco

Polly was selected to lead a young group , based on his experience . When one of the young ones show maturity and leadership qualities
Polly would be gone. He understand such.

Why is it upon Polly's shoulder to nurture such talents , aren't such for the Administrators of CWI, Selectors, Coaches etc....

Do they not prepare a game format , and Polly adhere to such during game conditions? Did Polly pick Smith ?

See the problems I am having with such logic?

In reply to sgtdjones

Young talent is nurtured and developed on and off the field sarge. How does bowling Smith one over in 2 matches contribute to his development as an international cricketer? Smith is playing as a bowler, no?

Outside of Pooran, who is deemed as a suitable captain? Please don't tell me Jason Holder, we have been there and done that. My only problem with Polly waan a cracker at the moment is that he is not performing consistently with the bat. I find that he is proactive in the field and he tries to get into the heads of our opponents. Hence sometimes why you may see Pollard in a catching position close to the batsman. I think he rotates the bowlers well. He also has the respect of his team mates.

In reply to Walco

So the responsibility falls on Polly to nature talent , on and off the field? Not Administrators of CWI, Selectors, Coaches etc...?
Does Polly live within such proximity of all these players to adhere to such.
In case your forget we live in islands, not on one mainland.
As a lawyer didn't you have that self drive to be the best you can.
Where did that come from, did 100% come from the firm you articled at? Or deep within you?

It was noted Smith was ill? We were not privy to discussions, so I cannot comment.

So bowling 1 to 4 overs in a match is classified as great development for a bowler , or should he be doing more in net conditions?.
Where is this players ambition to be the best , such players must put in the ground work by themselves.
The Administrators of CWI, Selectors, Coaches etc, should just fine tune them , so they are ready to go.

In reply to Windiesfan78

Lately he has not been as proactive as before though. Why did Hosein only bowl 3 overs yesterday but Allen bowled 4? And why was Holder taken out of the attack after just one over in which England scored one run? I also thought it was strange that Holder did not bowl his final over in the first match until over no. 20. A more proactive captain might have tried to put England out of their misery by bowling out Holder earlier.

Let's see what happens during the remainder of the series. But licks or the fear of licks usually lead to conservatism and less proactivity.

In reply to sgtdjones
Stewps man. You obviously gave no serious thought to what I wrote about nuturing on the field

In reply to Walco

Question, if Pollard was stepping up in his batting what do you think would happen? We would likely have won yesterday if Polls had gotten a quickfire 20 to 30 runs. When the top order fails, it puts a lot of pressure on the lower order to have to go after the bowlers from the time they get in.

Pollard last 20 T 20 International T20 stats.
Link Text

In reply to Walco

Question, if Pollard was stepping up in his batting what do you think would happen? We would likely have won yesterday if Polls had gotten a quickfire 20 to 30 runs. When the top order fails, it puts a lot of pressure on the lower order to have to go after the bowlers from the time they get in.

In reply to Walco

How many in the Caribbean can be nurtured?

Just check and see some of the comments made to coaches by past players?
Caribbean players don't work on their weakness, they know everything.

Off the current bunch , how many have shown improvement, does it look like they are working to get better?
They all have flaws, that shows , it helps the opponents. They do the same thing in each game over and over?
Any Lara or Shiv about , that spent hours improving on their own?

Polly cannot help them, he can explain to them what it takes to lead to Championship material.
But them heads hard.
The drive to excel is missing, to many leagues , to much money to be made in cricket today.
No skills are required , just hit 4's and 6's and you will be in demand.

In reply to Windiesfan78

So only Polly huh?

King made 0

Holder made 1

Polly made 1

Smith made 7

Oh well, Polly failed so we lost.

In reply to Walco

I was thinking about this scenario in my head awhile back! I can’t fault Pollard for those decisions. The way I see in T20, you have to keep mixing things up and don’t become too predictable. The batsmen are that good that the more they see of a particular bowler chances are they will eventually get the better of him.

Do not suggest any changes to the WI team. Do not suggest the captain made any mistakes. Always agree the coach is doing a great job.


Sgtdjones and Pariaman will congratulate you for being a great thinker.

Even when we lose series after series.

In reply to sgtdjones

So only Polly huh?

King made 0

Holder made 1

Polly made 1

Smith made 7

Oh well, Polly failed so we lost.

Who is the LEADER, MOST EXPERIENCED and heralded of that lot???

In reply to pariaman

In reply to sgtdjones

I never said that we failed only because of Pollard. This post is about him and I am saying that he should have stepped up as the captain and led from the front. I TOLD YOU and the others in this forum that and I quote:

I highlighted a section for you in the aforementioned quote. King was a part of the top order that failed yesterday but remember that he scored a half century the day before. Shai Hope also was run out on 2. With the West Indies in trouble, one would have hoped that Pollard would have stepped up and made some runs to ease some of the pressure. That did not happen and he needs to show consistency in his batting. He is a senior member of the team and the captain. Time for him to prove why he is such a dangerous batsman.

Let’s see what happens today.

In reply to mikelegend

Yup, I would like to see Captain Polly show the English what he is made of.

In reply to Windiesfan78

Well I must say he did it with the ball today. I was also impressed that he realized that he has not been batting well and put his EGO aside and came lower down the order. He still owes us two half centuries though!!

Can we get TWO half centuries from you while batting in the top 5 this series??

Down to ONE now…it matters MOST.

In reply to mikelegend

Yup, it is time for Pollard to be a hero. If he can be instrumental in leading our team to a series win against England, I will give Jack his jacket. Time for Pollard to have a matching winning innings today, with the series on the line. Don't let the fans down again after the series loss to Ireland. Time to stand up and be counted.

Now hacking every ball to the leg side and seems unable to time the ball. He's got a lot of problems to work on.

In reply to Windiesfan78

Powell has all the qualities of a leader.

In reply to VINCYPOWA

Powell has shown that he has leadership qualities. He is the captain of the Jamaican Tallawahs but I don't think he is ready to lead this team. He needs to get more chances and he will have to do a lot more with the bat over a period of time. He has the ability which was shown in the 3rd t20.

Akila Dananjaya would not agree with those who say such man can’t bat spin.

Pollard really stepped up as captain today when it mattered the most. He rotated the bowlers well and though Holder went for runs in his first over he entrusted the final over to him. He gave Smith overs as well and wasn't afraid to take risks by promoting Shepherd up the order. The decision didn't work out but he had a really good partnership with Powell. That's all I wanted from him. I still think he is the best choice we have as captain at the moment. If he can continue to put in performances like today, I am sure the team will be a lot more competitive in the future.

In reply to mikelegend

They want to put their shithounds in so the team could lose

In reply to Windiesfan78

You are toooooo funny….lol

the only decision yesterday that I would query was bringing in Shepherd. I agree that a pinchhitter was needed but I find that Shepherd tends to lose his batting shape to easily. He has the power and timing but needs to work on keeping his shape. We need to determine which of Allen, Shepherd, Smith or Hosein should become the pinchhitter when needed and have them practice accordingly. We will see how things go in India by way of development of what we saw against England.