‘It's the end of a generation’ – Kieron Pollard after West Indies end T20 Word Cup with an eight-wicket loss to Australia

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said that “it’s the end of a generation” for the Caribbean team and they need to look into the future going forward. Pollard and his men had a terrible outing in the T20 World Cup as they finished fifth in Group 1 with two points and a net run rate of -1.641. On Saturday, November 6, Australia beat them by eight wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

On Thursday, November 4, Dwayne Bravo announced his retirement from international cricket. The match against the Aussies might also have have been Chris Gayle’s last in Caribbean colours. The duo has tasted a significant amount of success in T20 cricket around the globe, but they couldn’t quite make a great impact in the ongoing mega event in the UAE.

We as people are very proud, says Kieron Pollard

“Overall, it’s been a disappointing campaign. In terms of the batting, we have not done well at all. Our bowling has been decent but not good enough. It’s the end of a generation, we have some guys who have done good things for T20 cricket in our team and around the world,” Pollard said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“We as people are very proud. We have to look at the way we play T20 cricket. What we’ve seen is that one guy in the top four has to bat as long as possible. Going forward need to do that better. We have to start from a foundation now,” Pollard said at the post-match press conference.

West Indies scored 157 for seven after being put in to bat first. They lost quite a few early wickets, but skipper Pollard’s 31-ball 44, laced with four fours and one six, bailed them out to some extent. Andre Russell played a came of 18 to make sure that West Indies go past the 150-run mark.

Their bowlers didn’t look penetrative as the Aussies chased the target down with 22 balls to spare. Roston Chase, Jason Holder and Russell conceded runs at an economy rate of over 12. Akeal Hosein and Gayle were the only wicket-takers for the Caribbean team.