Pollock: My ankle feels better with every ball I bowl, but it's not my decision. - File
BRIDGETOWN, (Reuters):
SOUTH AFRICA must decide whether to risk selecting Shaun Pollock for the third Test against the West Indies, which starts in Bridgetown, Barbados, today.
All-rounder Pollock has missed South Africa's past three Tests and three one-day internationals because of chronic inflammation in his left ankle but he joined the squad on Monday night.
He bowled without obvious discomfort at net practice yesterday.
"My ankle feels better with every ball I bowl, but it's not my decision," Pollock said.
"There isn't much I can accomplish in the two days before the Test, but for the selectors to be able to see me bowl might ease the decision they have to make," he added.
With 377 wickets and 3,120 runs in 93 matches, Pollock would normally be an automatic selection but aside from the risk of him breaking down South Africa may not want to tamper with the combination that won the second Test by eight wickets in Port-of-Spain.
Strike bowler Makhaya Ntini took 13 wickets for 132 in Trinidad, the best return by a South African in Test cricket.
Pollock has played three domestic 20 overs matches since returning from injury.
"There was nothing more I could do at home," the 31-year-old said.
"I still have a little discomfort, but it's not going to go by the end of the summer.
"It's either have a go now, or take the rest of the season off."
The traditionally lively surface at Kensington Oval, venue for the third Test, may lead South Africa to choose an attack that does not feature Pollock.
"I remember from when we here last time (in the drawn Test of 2001) that the pitch does a bit in the morning, and then tends to calm down," Pollock said.
"It was one of the nicer wickets we played on, it had some pace in it."
If Pollock is selected, it is likely to be at the expense of fast bowler Monde Zondeki.
