Mumbai: Kieron Pollard deserves the Sportsman Spirit of the Game award.
On Saturday, the West Indies captain showed the sportsmanship by allowing the visiting Australian captain Alex Carey to change the playing XI after the toss was done on Thursday when the ODI could not be played because of Covid scare.
Subsequently, Wes Agar played the match in place of Josh Hazelwood.
MCC's Law 1 on The Players states:
1.2 Nomination and replacement of players
Each captain shall nominate his/her players in writing to one of the umpires before the toss. No player may be replaced after the nomination without the consent of the opposing captain.
According to Pollard's childhood coach David Furlonge, the all-rounder has shown such sportsmanship in the past too.
Speaking exclusively over the telephone, he said, "I am not surprised he has done this before in the recently concluded Regional Super 50 final in Antigua. Guyana Jaguars submitted a flawed team list that contained players who were not actually playing and upon discovery after the toss allowed them to change the team list prior to the start of the game".
"I have no doubt that there was no hesitation in his decision to allow the change as he continues to play the game within the Spirit this great game is played and within the rules of the game. He should be highly commended and given praise for this decision", the coach signed off.
