England have appointed former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard as an assistant coach for the Men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA next June.
Pollard was part of the West Indies sides that won the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and has made a record 637 appearances across all T20 cricket internationally and domestically.
England hope the 36-year-old will provide local knowledge as they look to successfully defend the title they won under coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler in Australia in 2022.
England first won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in 2010, defeating Australia in the final.
Pollard amassed over 12,000 runs and took more than 300 wickets during his lengthy T20 career, winning the Indian Premier League five times with Mumbai Indians (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020).
The Trinidadian played 101 T20 internationals for West Indies between 2008 and 2022, scoring 1,500 runs, including six half-centuries, and taking 42 wickets.
Pollard smashed six sixes in an over off Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya during a T20 international in 2021, becoming the third man to achieve the feat in international cricket, after India’s Yuvraj Singh off England’s Stuart Broad and South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs off Netherlands’ Daan van Bunge.
The 2024 T20 World Cup runs between June 4-30, live on Sky Sports, with the fixtures to be released in due course.
England have just completed a five-match T20 international series in the Caribbean, beaten 3-2 by the hosts after a four-wicket defeat in the deciding game in Trinidad.
Buttler’s team had fallen 2-0 down in the series only to level the score at 2-2 as opener Phil Salt scored back-to-back centuries, with his 119 from 57 balls in the fourth match powering his side to their highest T20I total of 267-3.
There will be three debuting sides at the T20 World Cup, in joint-hosts USA as well as Canada and Uganda.
The 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five with the top two advancing to the Super 8 stage.
The Super 8s will feature two pools of four with the top two in each group making the semi-finals.
Teams to qualify for 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup
- USA (qualified as hosts)
- West Indies (qualified as hosts)
- England (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- Australia (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- India (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- New Zealand (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- Netherlands (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- Sri Lanka (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- South Africa (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- Pakistan (qualified on performance in last T20 World Cup)
- Afghanistan (qualified via T20I rankings)
- Bangladesh (qualified via T20I rankings)
- Ireland (came through Europe Qualifier)
- Scotland (came through Europe Qualifier)
- Papua New Guinea (came through East Asia-Pacific Qualifier)
- Canada (came through Americas Qualifier)
- Nepal (came through Asia Qualifier)
- Oman (came through Asia Qualifier)
- Namibia (came through Africa Qualifier)
- Uganda (came through Africa Qualifier)
Source : Sky Sports
