Pollard targets one-day success

Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, has said that the Bangladesh series is a very important one for West Indies and for himself personally. Pollard joined the squad after winning the Champions League T20 with Mumbai Indians, but was ineligible to play in his side's Twenty20 international defeat on Tuesday. He has yet to establish himself as an ODI force, averaging 21.73 from 43 games, and score a one-day hundred.

"Hopefully we can go there and give a good account of ourselves [in the ODIs]," he said. "Bangladesh played well in the Twenty20 game but it can go either way, that you have seen in the Champions League. Fifty-overs games are the test of character of each team."

Having just played in India, Pollard said he was used to the conditions, which are basically the same across the subcontinent. "The wickets here are slow, the wickets in India were slow as well. I played a lot of games in Chennai where the wicket was slow. So actually it's the same sort of wicket.

"You have to go there and play to the situation, according to what the wicket is doing. As a batsman you have to assess it properly."

When asked about the causes for the team's three-wicket loss in the T20I, Pollard said it was a combination of factors and that the team had identified what needs to be fixed. "I think we have done that [a post mortem] and the guys know where they had made the errors. Hopefully we can correct it and come back stronger."

Pollard struggled somewhat in the Champions League, despite being his team's highest run-getter. He made one half-century and averaged just 20.50 from six games, but said he always feels confident when he steps out to bat.

"I've just come out of a tournament and didn't score that much, but it's a new day and anything can happen. You never know. I can score three hundreds against Bangladesh."

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak said the win in the T20I had given his team the mental advantage and that he hoped the one-dayer was played on the same wicket, as that wicket suited the way his team plays. He was also looking forward to bowling with the new ball. Each team will have two new balls to start the game under the ICC's new playing conditions, which came into effect on October 1.

"I am used to bowling with the new ball," Razzak said. "I think it helps because there's shine and the seam is prominent. With the Kookaburra [ball], the spinners get assistance when the ball is newer."