MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (CMC):

WEST INDIES rookie batsman Kieron Pollard is taking his entry into international cricket step by step as he looks forward to Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.

The West Indies open the CWC tournament on Tuesday at Sabina Park against Pakistan, and the hard-hitting teenager hopes to get picked for the match.

"My first goal at the tournament is to make the final eleven, and if I achieve that in the first game, I want to perform at my best, in whatever situation I go into," Pollard said.

"I make goals in short term and when I achieve them I make another one," he added.

Pollard, who played his first game for the West Indies on Monday, scoring 14 in the team's victory over Kenya, is keen to get among the runs if he gets the opportunity.

"A couple of 50s or even a hundred according to the situation or what the case may be. It's all about the team and what the team wants and that's how I play. Going into the tournament I will do my very best in whatever I do bat, bowl or field," Pollard said.

Youth player

The ex-Trinidad and Tobago national youth player is the only newcomer in the West Indies 15-man squad at the tournament.

The aggressive right-hander, who represented West Indies at the 2006 ICC Youth (Under-19) World Cup, first announced himself on the regional stage last August when he clouted a whirlwind 83 off 38 balls against Nevis in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 tournament in Antigua.

A century on debut against a quality Barbados pace attack in the first round of the 2007 Carib Beer series further enhanced Pollard's billing and influenced his selection to the CWC squad.