Haynes eyes Pollard as future captain

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – West Indies legend Desmond Haynes earmarked Kieron Pollard as a possible West Indies captain in the shorter forms of the game.

The former Barbados captain and West Indies opener was mentor of the Barbados Tridents which won the Caribbean Premier League on Saturday following a rainstorm that disrupted the Final at Warner Park.

“Last year, when I was coach, we started by winning four or five games, but we didn’t do very well moving towards the end,” said Haynes in an interview with the Cricket Country website.

“But this year, we have been more consistent at the back-end of the tournament. I think it is because of Kieron Pollard’s captaincy as well.

“He is one guy who would try a lot of things on the ground. He has shown great leadership and hopefully, I would like to see him being the captain of the West Indies at some stage.”

Haynes formed one of the most durable opening partnerships in the history of the game with fellow Barbadians Gordon Greenidge.

He said he would have relished the opportunity to play Twenty20 and felt his generation of West Indies players would have mastered the format – but he was happy with his role on the periphery of the game.

“It has been a great experience,” he said. “My role as mentor is to ensure that I assist in any way possible and to discuss how to play the shortest version of the game. I didn’t play T20 cricket, but I have been very successful as a one-day cricketer.

“I know what it is to play the short version of the game and believe that the guys are learning from my experience and used it to the best of their abilities.”