Kieron Pollard's strange no-ball divides cricket fraternity into two halves

Windian giant all-rounder Kieron Pollard has always found him in controversy, by one way or the other. The Bardos Tridents’ skipper started a new controversy on Sunday when his side was playing against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match. Batting first, Pollard’s men were all out after accumulating mere 128 runs.

Chasing the target, Evin Lewis launched an attack from the beginning. In just 7 overs, the Patriots leveled the target. Not that the match was of great importance anymore, but for Evin Lewis, it was a golden opportunity to enter into the record books. He was batting on 97 runs from 32 balls and could have easily scored the 2nd fastest century, just behind his fellow partner Chris Gayle’s 30-ball century for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Pollard decided to take his chance with the ball. But lo! Pollard’s leg was miles ahead of where it should have been and naturally, the ball was declared as a ‘no-ball’, thereby denying Lewis a hundred. This incident from the big guy has created a stir in the cricketing fraternity, where some people are slamming Pollard for his unsporting attitude and the others are seeing no big deals in Pollard’s no-ball.

Against Pollard

“It was rather a rather strange act from a man of Pollard’s class. One would not have expected that from him. I am not saying that he should have given him the hundred, no one wants to do that. However, if it was me, I would have bowled a ball and try to get him out. If the no-ball was intentional, then it is not nice at all and unbecoming of Pollard,” said former Windian cricketer and current commentator Philo Wallace, as per reports in Trinidad and Tobago Guardian.

For Pollard

While Wallace was unhappy with Pollard’s no-ball, another commentator Colin Murray feels it is not a very big issue. “No one can say for sure that he bowled the no-ball deliberately. Pollard is very competitive by nature and he would do anything to prevent a player scoring a hundred against his team. I see people are saying that he should not have done that because Lewis is a fellow Trinidadian. That to me is utter rubbish because it tells me that just because someone is from your country you must give them gifts. It’s like Dwight Yorke in the days at Manchester playing a match against another club and let’s say against Brent Sancho and allowing him to score three goals because he is from Trinidad. I think people need to understand that no one would just give away a century and what Pollard did was just be competitive,” said Murray.

The incident threw light on a similar event which took place in 2010 when Sri Lankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv deliberately bowled a no-ball to keep Sehwag stranded on 99. The ICC had fined Randiv for his ungrateful act and both teams moved on.