If there was one Caribbean ground Shaun Pollock might have had dreams
of making a Test century on, it would have been Kensington Oval.
After all, it was the home ground of his former team-mate, captain and
mentor, the late Malcolm Marshall.
Yesterday, the South Africa captain fashioned an extraordinary century
to frustrate the West Indies on the second day of the third Cable &
Wireless Test.
It does mean a lot to me, Pollock said when asked how significant it
was for him to achieve the landmark here.
This is where he (Marshall) played all his cricket. It is special to
get a hundred in Barbados.
It's just a pity that he wasn't here to see it, added Pollock, who
played under Marshall's tutelage in South African provincial side
Natal in the early 1990s.
It was a very splendid effort from the 27-year-old Pollock against the
background that he had scored only eight when Allan Donald joined him
just after lunch in the midst of a West Indies fightback.
By the time the South Africa innings ended, he was unbeaten on 106,
after sharing in a ninth-wicket stand of 132 with Donald.
It was Pollock's second Test century in his 54th match, his first
having been made off 95 balls against Sri Lanka a few months ago.
At least I can say it wasn't a fluke the first time around, he said.
It is difficult to compare the two, but from a personal point of view,
I don't know if it was the one I enjoyed more.
Pollock's century was made batting at No. 9 and once more underlined
the powerful strength of South Africa's dependable lower order. It has
been consistent for several seasons; but in this series, it had been
disappointing up until now.
When the West Indies toured South Africa in 1998-99, Pollock batted
mainly at No. 7, but now he finds himself two notches down in spite of
a Test average of close to 30.
If we are competing for positions down there, then that's great. It
means that the strength of our batting is much better, the captain
said.
I was really happy with the performance down the bottom of the order.
We've had a bit of problems so far in the series. We've discussed it
and earmarked it as an area where we have to improve.
Nicky Boje, who came in at No. 7 on the first evening, weighed in with
34, but there was a more telling contribution from Donald, who made a
Test-best 37.
It was a brilliant effort on his part, Pollock said. He played
superbly well.
With a total of 454 on the board, Pollock feels South African can make
use of the most bowler-friendly pitch seen during the series.
There is a lot more in it, he said, in comparing Kensington's to the
surfaces at Bourda and Queen's Park Oval.