debut: 2/16/17
40,098 runs
In reply to anthonyp
Have you checked Pollard Cricket FC's stats Anthony? ... You will see how he clobbered Barbados in a 4-day game.
Two things can be true at once with Pollard:
He showed in the regional four-day that he wasn’t just a slogger. There were stretches where he batted long, changed gears smartly, and did, yes, belted Barbados . But once the 2009 Champions League turned him into a global T20 commodity. From a selector’s chair, that makes a Test cap a hard sell—solid first-class numbers, limited sample, and not much recent four-day time.
The system mattered. West Indies often tied Test selection to ongoing domestic red-ball participation, and the calendar/pay gap pushed multi-skill players toward leagues. In a setup like Australia or England—central contracts, clearer red-ball pathways—you can imagine Pollard being moulded into a Test batting all-rounder. That line I cite (often attributed to Richie Benaud) captures the feeling: in the Australian system, he will be selected to play test cricket.
On coaches: Cricket has plenty of high-level coaches who didn’t play at the highest level—John Buchanan (Australia), Trevor Bayliss (England), Mickey Arthur (South Africa/Pakistan/SL)—proof that elite coaching isn’t a former-superstar-only club; they were certified coaches.
If you want, pull together the exact first-class numbers and that Barbados match reference, plus a short comparison with contemporaries who did get test chances. It’d make a tidy, evidence-backed case for how the pathway shaped Pollard’s trajectory.
Sarge
Have you checked Pollard Cricket FC's stats Anthony? ... You will see how he clobbered Barbados in a 4-day game.
Two things can be true at once with Pollard:
He showed in the regional four-day that he wasn’t just a slogger. There were stretches where he batted long, changed gears smartly, and did, yes, belted Barbados . But once the 2009 Champions League turned him into a global T20 commodity. From a selector’s chair, that makes a Test cap a hard sell—solid first-class numbers, limited sample, and not much recent four-day time.
The system mattered. West Indies often tied Test selection to ongoing domestic red-ball participation, and the calendar/pay gap pushed multi-skill players toward leagues. In a setup like Australia or England—central contracts, clearer red-ball pathways—you can imagine Pollard being moulded into a Test batting all-rounder. That line I cite (often attributed to Richie Benaud) captures the feeling: in the Australian system, he will be selected to play test cricket.
On coaches: Cricket has plenty of high-level coaches who didn’t play at the highest level—John Buchanan (Australia), Trevor Bayliss (England), Mickey Arthur (South Africa/Pakistan/SL)—proof that elite coaching isn’t a former-superstar-only club; they were certified coaches.
If you want, pull together the exact first-class numbers and that Barbados match reference, plus a short comparison with contemporaries who did get test chances. It’d make a tidy, evidence-backed case for how the pathway shaped Pollard’s trajectory.
Sarge
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