CPL to review Kieron Pollard no-ball controversy

The burly Trinidadian was criticized by the commentators and fans alike for not upholding the spirit of the game after bowling what looked like a deliberate no-ball when the scores were level. The no-ball denied St Kitts & Nevis Patriots’ batsman Evin Lewis, who was batting on 97 runs, the chance to score the second-fastest Twenty20 hundred of all time. Pollard’s slower bouncer would have likely been called a ‘wide’ had it not been a no-ball.

On Tuesday, the CPL said in a statement, “the incident at the end of the match between Barbados Tridents and the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots… where the match was ended with a no ball bowled by Kieron Pollard is being reviewed.”

The statement added the CPL was “very concerned by any suggestion that the action of any player can be considered to have brought the game or the league into disrepute.”

On Sunday, Pollard’s no-ball had attracted widespread criticism and Danny Morrison, who was in the commentary box then, said that he was “disappointed” with Pollard’s lack of respect for the game of cricket. 

“(Lewis) deserved a hundred and I’ve got to say, as positive and excited as I am, it’s a pretty disappointing way for Pollard to finish the game,” said Morrison.

Lewis even went on to express his disappointment on missing out a deserving hundred but decided to look beyond the incident and concentrate on the knock-outs. 

“It hurts (missing out on the hundred), but hitting 97 not out off 33 balls – I’ll take that any day. I’ve been hitting the ball long and hard in the nets. I’m confident now and looking forward to the playoffs,” Lewis had said in the post-match press conference.

The incident has brought to mind a similar one from seven years ago when Sri Lankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv bowled a no-ball during a One-Day International in Dambulla in 2010 to deny Virender Sehwag a century. He had invited a lot of ire then and later apologized for the same.