HUMMING BIRD - TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - IPL AUCTION

Dear (s)

Hummingbirds are birds comprising the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, and include the smallest extant bird species, the Bee Hummingbirds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–90 times per second (depending on the species). They can also fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so. Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their rapid wing beats. They can fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h, 34 mi/h).

This is no special article about the bird but about the Nation known as ‘Land of humming birds” made famous overnight by whopping $ 2.3M money spent for buying a 22 year young cricketer. Kieron Adrian Pollard (12-05-1987) is not a new name atleast to those who followed the Champions League – a competition held between clubs from India, Australia, England, South Africa, Newzealand and West Indies. This was also chaired by Lalit Modi. The 2009 tournament was played in India during October and was won by New South Wales Blues who defeated Trinidad & Tobago – names of Adrian Barath, Kieron Pollard all became household names. In fact, Pollard hit 14 sixes in the tournament.

Geographically, Carribean is an archipelago of 4020 kms – region consisting of carribean sea, its islands and surrounding coasts. There is also the WEST INDIES. The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state—possibly similar to the Canadian Confederation, Australian Federation, or Central African Federation; however, before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts.
The ten provinces or unit territories of the West Indies Federation were: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica , Grenada , Jamaica ,Montserrat, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (present day Saint Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla), Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago Historically "West Indian" nations The Bahamas, Bermuda, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, and Guyana opted not to join because they believed that their future lay with association with North America (for both the Bahamas and Bermuda), Central America, the United States Virgin Islands, and South America respectively. However, the Bahamas did participate in the 1960 West Indies Federation Games, with a future prime minister of the Bahamas, Perry Christie, as an athlete. There was however possible Interest by Guyana in a very loose re-attempted Caribbean Federation around 1971

Then there is the TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO :

The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Spanish. Both islands were encountered by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands. Trinidad remained in Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. In 1889 the two islands were incorporated into a single crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained self-governance in 1958 and independence from the British Empire in 1962. It became a republic in 1976. Trinidad is the second richest country in the West Indies. This again consists of many islands – main being Trinidad and Tobago.
Tobago) is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt.
Trinidad (Spanish: "Trinity") is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km (7 miles) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 4,768 km² (1,864 sq. mi.) it is also the fifth largest in the West Indies.
It is commonly believed that the original name for the island in the Arawak language was "Iëre" which meant "Land of the Humming Bird". Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Ysla de la Trinidad" ("The Island of the Trinity"), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration.

Now coming to IPL Auction – Mumbai Indians bought out Kieron Pollard at a whopping $ 2.3 M corresponding to Rs.10.49 crores. The base price was $ 250000 and the maximum bid was $ 750000 beyond which it was silent auction.

Pollard not even 23 is a right hand allrounder – batting the middle order and bowls medium pace. He represented WI in 2006 U 19 WC, hit the headlines when he smashed 83 for T&T in the Stanford 20/20 in 2006. he was in the provisional 30 man squad for the WC. He made his ODI debut in 2007 against South Africa – has played 15 one days in all totalling a paltry 147 with highest of 42. In T20 – he has played 10 match in all.

There were stellar performances in the Champions League T20 especially a match winning 18 ball 54 against NSW. He was signed by South Australia and now Mumbai Indians have bought him at a whopping $ 2.3 M.

Very high price indeed. Whether the Team gets its due from him remains to be seen and will be out in March in the 3rd edition of IPL.


With regards – S Sampathkumar.