West Indies set to lock horns with Australia in ODIs today

… Pollard focused on racking up important points in ODI Super League as 2023 World Cup looms

After thrashing Australia in the T20 International series, West Indies will now turn their attention to the 50-over format as 90 points will be on the line in the One-Day International (ODI) Super League.

West Indies currently sit at number nine in the league rankings while Australia are at number three; both teams will be searching for valuable points when they clash today at 14:30h.
West Indies white-ball Captain Kieron Pollard has noted that the team will have to be professional as they make that transition from the T20 format to the 50 overs. He said that Shai Hope and Darren Bravo among others would be expected to bat long and understand the format of the game. Pollard also alluded to the fact that every one-day game was very important and had value as they geared up to the 50-over World Cup in 2023. The Windies Captain relayed that in terms of his fitness after missing several games owing to injury, he has gotten the necessary rest and was looking forward to the series as he has been doing the necessary training and was hopeful of being among the 11-man squad.
“In terms of Hayden Walsh Jr coming into the ODI fold against the Aussies, we are tempted. We will see; obviously we have a squad, but we will see come tomorrow. It is a matter of seeing that balance: he has been working very hard. The work he has been doing behind the scenes is tremendous, so let’s see what happens in the ODI series. Walsh was not initially in the ODI squad, but being a part of a bubble and being here, you never know what will happen,” Pollard added.
The Australian batting line-up is experienced and with Aaron Finch suffering from a knee injury, Pollard believes that it will be a plus for the men in maroon. He reiterated that at the end of the day, the Australian cricket team would want to impress, so it did not matter whether they were experienced or not, but what the West Indies must do was limit their opportunity to score as much as possible.
“Mitchell Marsh has gotten away from us a bit in the T20 series, but hopefully not in the ODI format. As I said they all have points to prove in different aspect and we just want to continue to focus on what we have to do,” Pollard noted.
The white-ball Captain stated that he was optimistic that the players would take that confidence from the T20I series over to the ODIs. He was adamant of the fact that from a white-ball perspective, he has seen a level of improvement from the team and was hopeful they could carry on from there. As compared to the plethora of all-rounders that were selected in the T20 format, Pollard has said that the criteria for the longer format will see a sort of specialist, well-balanced squad as seen in the Sri Lanka tour of the Caribbean. He was adamant that he was positive that he would not see the makeup of the team change and the players must be accountable for the role and responsibility they have in the setup.
In closing, the Windies captain noted that he loved to play against the Aussies as they reflected the same passion and determination he showed on the field. He mentioned that he admired their fight and believed that was how cricket should be played, and was hopeful that he could score some runs against the men from Down Under.
“My primary focus is that we tick our boxes, do our basics, dot our i’s, cross our t’s and at the end of the day, we have 90 points at stake and if not, we will take 60 points minimum,” Pollard declared.