The new KP belts the Blues
The Sunday Age
Sunday October 18, 2009
SO MUCH for being able to hear "KP" in cricket terms and know for sure someone is talking about Kevin Pietersen.A new KP, West Indian Kieron Pollard, blasted 54 off 18 balls to drag Trinidad & Tobago to a shock second-round Champions League victory over tournament favourites the NSW Blues in Hyderabad yesterday. The four-wicket win €” T & T passed the Blues' 4-170 with nine deliveries to spare €” means the West Indians have all but secured a semi-final berth, whereas the previously high-flying Blues must now beat England's struggling Somerset Sabres tonight to give themselves the best chance of progressing beyond the second round, at the expense of Somerset and the Diamond Eagles."We were happy with 170 . . . we set ourselves goals as a batting unit €” that is the sort of total we look forward to scoring," captain Simon Katich said after the match."We're not under any sort of pressure, we know we have the players to go [out] there and achieve things. There is a lot of room for improvement. We have to grow in time and we are feeling that spirit, and hopefully we can continue making that climb."When 22-year-old Pollard arrived at the crease at the start of the 14th over, his team was languishing at 5-91, needing a lofty 80 off the last seven overs to overhaul NSW's target, which was inspired by an opening stand of 121 between openers Phillip Hughes (83) and David Warner (63). The Blues were firmly in control throughout their innings, with three of their four wickets falling in the last over.All-rounder Pollard's scoring of only a single boundary off the first seven deliveries he faced gave no indication of the onslaught he was to inflict on NSW €” Moises Henriques in particular €” in the last four overs of the match.With T & T needing 51 from the last four overs, he first thumped 26 off the 17th over from Henriques €” three sixes and two boundaries, plus a wide to make it 27 for the over €” and by the time the emerging Henriques returned in the 19th over the West Indians needed 16 runs for victory.Pollard's team had 12 deliveries in which to reach the target, yet the man with "20-20" shaved into the side of his head needed only the first three deliveries, walloping a boundary and two sixes, the last six prompting the 193-centimetre hero to let out a roar reminiscent of Russell Crowe in Gladiator.His captain, Daren Ganga, described the innings as "brilliant"."It's the sort of innings we expected of him," Ganga said. "He came good today, but I can tell you he's not the only one who is looking to come good. There are a lot of guys who are hungry to perform for this team."All-rounder Henriques has arguably been the player of the tournament so far, but the 22-year-old Australian was left with the awful figures of 1-49 from 3.3 overs.Earlier, precocious pair Hughes and Warner easily recorded the biggest opening stand of the tournament, 121, until Warner got underneath an attempted heave over mid-wicket and was caught on the boundary.NSW's dominance was undermined after it lost three wickets in the last over, and had Ben Rohrer spared by a fumble at deep mid-wicket on the second-last ball.In response, Brett Lee made his customary breakthrough in the third over, having William Perkins caught at deep point for 16. The Blues looked to have a stranglehold on the match after they picked up another two wickets in the following two overs €” courtesy of Doug Bollinger and Henriques. Two run-outs in the second half of T & T's innings looked to have locked up the win for NSW, due to the lack of deliveries left and the lack of West Indian batsmen as reinforcements. Few €” if any €” would have counted on Pollard's intervention.
© 2009 The Sunday Age