Odean Smith is turning out to be yet another exciting talent coming out of the West Indies and his first impressions have not disappointed those who have witnessed his prowess. The 25-year-old Jamaican piled 84 runs off 47 balls and got three wickets with his consistent pace during the Ireland tour. But his talent with the bat got attention when one of the sixes he hit fell on the roof of his teammate Sheldon Cottrell’s SUV in the parking lot.
West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard is already impressed with what he has seen of Smith. “For us, Odean Smith has come in with a rare talent, someone who can hit the ball a long way and he can go 90 miles an hour. He himself will be trying to create his own identity,” said Pollard ahead of the T20I series with England. The five-match T20I series is currently levelled at 1-1, after a thrilling match on Monday where England beat West Indies by just 1 run at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Pollard also pointed out that Smith shouldn’t be compared with anyone including predecessors from the Caribbean and put undue pressure. “I think, first of all, that’s the mistake we make at the start. We start to compare young individuals, who want to make a name for themselves, with players of the past or players of present; and if they don’t fulfil that talent, it is easy for us to stick them over that pedestal. Yes, maybe partnering against some guys who are still playing. But let’s not make the mistake and try to put him in those shoes, because then we will start to expect a lot from him. And we don’t know how these guys gonna cope. These are young guys coming into international cricket. So, that has given the opportunity to just express himself; and let’s use that raw talent and try to refine it. And over a period of time, get the best out of him,” explained Pollard, an all-rounder who made a name for himself with similar talent.
Speaking about his team’s average batting performance, the skipper stated that instead of focussing on promoting hard-hitters like Smith up the order, the team should stick to the process to achieve success. “It all boils down to the sort of combinations, and what is your main sort of weaponry and what we’re going to use as your main skill set. I’m sure he’s (Smith) going to go out and do well. He has confidence but everything boils down to combination, so to say exactly where he is going to bat, I can’t say,” added Kieron Pollard.
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