Cricket and controversies go hand in hand and since the inception of T20 format, the high octane action tends to take the better of players on many occasions. However, there is one thing that this Gentleman’s game has always boasted about and that is the sportsman spirit, which has also been put to questions due to some outrageous actions by participating players.
One such player, whose career has been subjected to many controversies is Kieron Pollard. Be it the during the India vs West Indies series when he deliberately left the ball while thinking that MS Dhoni might leave the crease for another run but the former Indian skipper was one step ahead of him and stole the single, or his outrageous comments during the Indian Premier League, Kieron Pollard is now named as the Bad Boy of this Gentleman’s game.
This time around, he is accused of deliberately bowling a no ball in order to deny Evin Lewis his much deserving century in the league states of Caribbean Premier League.
Chasing a target of 129 runs, Lewis got the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots off to a flier, with him and Chris Gayle going for sixes at will during this short chase. Lewis went for 11 sixes, racing to 97 runs from just 32 balls and was just one strike away from registering the second fastest T20 century as well as the third fastest across all forms of the game.
While the Patriots needed just one run to take the win, Lewis needed just three for a thundering hundred, with the crowd cheering and urging him to get there.
Tridents’ skipper Kieron Pollard, however, had other ideas as he bowled a short, wide delivery down the leg side and also over-stepped the line by a huge margin to make it a no-ball on three accounts.
While the no-ball sealed that winning run, Lewis was left stranded on 97, although Patriots registered a resounding 10 wicket victory in just seven overs.
Watch Kieron Pollard’s Seemingly Deliberate No-ball Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMwlChDDUVE
( Video Courtesy: Mr. Gamer121 )
This isn’t the first time that a bowler opted for a no-ball to stop the batsman on crease from reaching a milestone. In 2010, during an ODI between India and Sri Lanka, Suraj Randiv also bowled a no-ball to leave Virender Sehwag stranded on a score of 99 runs.
The shortest format of the game, while becoming the ultimate source of entertainment for Cricket fans, tends to brainwash the players to keep aside the laws and spirit of the game and what Kieron Pollard was enough of a proof to that.
What he did was definitely within the circumference of the rules but it left the spirit of this Gentleman’s game hanging on a thin thread.
As expected, fans took to social media to show their displeasure with Kieron Pollard’s disgraceful actions.
@CPL Great entertainment #EvinLewis . It will be considered as a ton. Never expected this from Pollard. #NoSportsmanship
— Himansu_Surgical (@showdown_pz) September 4, 2017
https://twitter.com/_Arnav_Khushi_/status/904515968180899845
https://twitter.com/rhi_bridge/status/904515844151107584
Lost all my respect for Pollard there, he is the definition of a sore loser. Absolutely disgusted 😡
— Sastri (@SastriB) September 4, 2017
Must commend Evin tho….I woulda sure be saying something bout Pollard's nastiness in that post match interview #CPL
— Mitra Kisraj 🏏⚽️ (@MKisraj) September 4, 2017
Terrible sportsmanship Kieron Pollard. You did that to a fellow countryman too… disgusting!!!
— Shereen Ali (@shersabali) September 4, 2017
One should never opt for such disgraceful decisions and rather than denying others of what they deserve, players should focus on winning the game.