Kieron Pollard cleared of serious injury

Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, has been cleared of serious injury after he was hit on the eye by a short ball from Dominic Cork during the Friends Provident t20 final at the Rose Bowl. Pollard returned to Trinidad to continue his recovery ahead of the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa, where he will play for IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

Pollard had scored 22 off seven balls for Somerset but had to leave the field after the blow. He was taken to the Southampton Hospital for scans, which revealed nothing serious.

"Kieron is fine and will be able to resume his cricket very shortly," Colin Borde, the Trinidad & Tobago manager, told CMC. "The results of the examinations showed that there were no fractures to the eye socket and also there was no damage to the retina. This is great news. The swelling has subsided and he is resting.

"Pollard will be definitely joining his countryman Dwayne Bravo in South Africa to play with the Mumbai Indians in the Champions League. After a short rest, he and Bravo will take off for South Africa on September 5, with the Champions league beginning on September 10."

Pollard was also optimistic about his recovery and said it was progressing well. "We have to wait until the swelling goes down to do further tests, but from the tests so far the eye is good," Pollard told the Trinidad Express "When I open the eye, I see clear. I have been home recovering over the last few days and the swelling has been going down faster than expected.

"At first I thought it was a dangerous injury but so far things have been going good," he said. "For now I am looking forward to the Champions League and the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka. Hopefully I get selected for that and I can make an impression."