Kieron Pollard

West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been ruled out of the Big Bash League Twenty20 cricket with a tear in his right hamstring. Losing Pollard was a major blow for the much-hyped Twenty20 domestic tournament as it has lost a big draw card. Scans revealed that the Adelaide Strikers star has a grade two tear. He suffered the injury while fielding in a warm-up game Thursday. Alfonso Thomas is likely to take his place in the playing XI.

"Our plan was always to rotate the international players, and now with our additional signing, it means Alfonso Thomas is able to slot straight into the team," Darren Berry, the Strikers coach, said. "We are obviously disappointed to lose Polly and his firepower in our middle order," he added.

Pollard struck form with the bat recently, scoring his maiden international century, an innings that included 10 sixes, against India in Chennai. The South Africa offspinner Johan Botha is also part of the Strikers squad. "The arrival of Johan Botha from South Africa is great news for us, and we regard him as one of the finest T20 players in the world," Berry said. "The two international players [Botha and Thomas] we have already in the squad, along with the rest of our local stars who formed a large part of the winning team last year, will hold us in good stead."

Pollard helped the South Australian (SA) Redbacks to win the T20 title last summer with brutal hitting in scoring 148 runs at a competition-high strike rate of over 187.

But Pollard did not feature in SA's successful finals campaign due to international commitments.

'We won last year's T20 competition and have proven we can win without him,' Berry said.

The Strikers begin their campaign on December 18 against Melbourne Renegades.



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