Pollard hit 29 sixes, including one that almost cleared the Lord's pavilion

Somerset are confident of securing the services of crowd-favourite Kieron Pollard for the 2011 Twenty20 campaign.

The West Indies all-rounder helped Somerset to the Friends Provident t20 final last season and finished second in the PCA list of leading players.

Somerset coach Andy Hurry believes the pain of losing the final, when Pollard pulled out injured, will help the county beat rivals to his signature.

"He feels there's unfinished business here," Hurry told BBC Somerset.

"He was so bitterly disappointed that he couldn't complete the final being injured.

"I went to his room at three o'clock in the morning after the final and he was in tears and felt he had let everybody down. That stands us in good stead for the forthcoming season."

Pollard was hit by a Dominic Cork bouncer in the final over of Somerset's innings after scoring 22 off seven balls and could not contribute with the ball and prevent Hampshire from winning a tied match by virtue of losing fewer wickets.

The 23-year-old finished the season with 309 runs at an average of 28.09 and struck 29 sixes, one of which almost cleared the pavilion at Lord's during a bludgeoning 45-ball 89 on his debut.

In addition he was the tournament's second-highest wicket taker behind team-mate Alfonso Thomas with 28 scalps at 14.96, and also took six catches, including a remarkable and crucial effort in the semi-final against Nottinghamshire.

In a busy year in the shortest form of the game, Pollard also helped Mumbai Indians reach the IPL final in 2010 and has since appeared for them in September's Champions League Trophy in South Africa.

And he also represents South Australia's Redbacks and is taking part in the current Australian Big Bash competition which means he will not be appearing for Trinidad and Tobago in January's Caribbean T20, which also features Somerset.

Hurry added: "Kieron was a great character in the changing room. He's inspirational and loves the game of cricket, loves talking about it and is happy to talk to players about how they can develop their game.

"He's a real overseas professional like Justin Langer and Jamie Cox who really gives to the team.

"His performances on the pitch were three-dimensional. We all expected him to hit the ball out of the park, like he did at Lord's, but what really impressed us was his fielding, which was dynamic, and most impressively his bowling with Thomas at the death.

"We knew no matter what the situation was, as we saw against Hampshire in the group stages, we could draw a game back from any situation and that gives the team immense confidence and belief."

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