Farewell to "whispering death"
A look at the development of the great West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding
Ray Ford
21-Apr-2015
Originally published in the Cricketer, January 1990
As England goes through its soul searching and packs its bags
for the Caribbean tour, it might be of some consolation that its
batsmen will not have to face Michael Holding this time. Not
that any member of the refanged West Indian pace pincer is to be
taken lightly, but encounters with Michael in particular might
be better off buried in the annals. In his five Test series
against England, Holding captured 96 of his 249 wickets, and in
addition produced two of the finest displays of fast bowling
prowess.
Back in 1974, the year before Clive Lloyd gambled by taking him
to Australia, I remember chatting with him at a party in
Kingston. On that chilly night in Hope Pastures, there was a
mission in his penetrating stare and that baritone voice. "I
want to be on that '76 tour to England", he confided. Not
totally surprised, I enquired only about his stamina, not
technique. "I am lifting weights at Mr. Goldsmith," came the
response. I knew then that he was on his way. Indeed, he made
that memorable trip, not as the inconspicuous rookie he had
envisioned, but with 29 Test wickets from nine appearances. More
importantly, he went with a reputation for pace that did not set
well with frontline batsmen.
I first stumbled into this prodigy in the summer of 1964 at an
unkempt ground just behind his Dunrobin Avenue residence in
Kingston. Red Hill Oval as it was called, was more of a
sociological garden than a nursery for the future West Indian
player, so Michael paid more attention to the daily cross-strata
expositions than he did to cricket. However, when called upon to
play, the critique was always positive - lively pace, useful
bat. Shortly thereafter, he began attending Kingston College
High School. Even though the school boasted West Indian caps in
J. Cameron, J. K. Holt, Jr., "Collie" Smith and Easton McMorris,
cricket at the time was dwarfed by the successes both in
track and field and soccer. In track, the school was just
embarking on an extended dynasty, while in soccer, the 1964 and
1965 teams were arguably the best in the Caribbean. Michael's
success at schoolboy cricket would just have to wait until 1970
when his team went undefeated to island supremacy.
It was during my seven years at Kingston College that I saw him
in the making. If I awoke early enough, I could ride with him to
school as his father's Chevy station wagon motored down Constant
Spring Road. After classes, he seemed perennially to engage me
in debates as to the shortest route on foot to cricket practice
at the school"s Melbourne Park annexe. Occasionally on a
Saturday evening, our paths would again cross on the environs of
Maurice"s Restaurant. That was the place to savour a tasty
curried goat or a fried chicken then wager the residual at
"crown & anchor" - a game of chance.
His preparation for the big leagues though, was undoubtedly
fashioned at the Melbourne Cricket Club in Kingston. Under the
tutelage of some former Jamaican representatives, he moved
smoothly through all three levels of club cricket and, in 1973,
into the national team. After two inter-territorial seasons,
Clive Lloyd had seen enough. Tossing statistics aside, he
summoned Holding for the '75-76 sojourn in Australia. I can
remember sharing that elation as his postcard from Brisbane
read, "Don"t walk too hard, remember I am down here - Mikey."
The tour was statistically unflattering and yet so embryogenic
to West Indies' success as we know it today. Holding,
understudying Andy Roberts, had to partner raw pace with
subtlety in order to dislodge the likes of Redpath and Turner.
As he would later put it, "In bowling to the big bats,
line-and-length alone is no good. It's the variation that
counts." His modesty wouldn't allow him to mention his pace,
even though he was bettering the much feared Jeff Thomson at an
estimated 97 mph. The next tour "Down Under", was to bring him
probably his most satisfying reward - the first Test series win
for West Indies there in six tries. In all, he would glean from
Australia 73 Test wickets at 23 runs apiece and would leave us
with some memorable duels against some eloquent batsmen. A
connoisseur of batting technique, he still talks as if it were a
great honour to have bowled to the two Chappells.
After the 5-1 drubbing, it was time to regroup against India at
home. The humiliation had brought Lloyd's leadership to
scrutiny, worse yet when the series came to Kingston still tied.
Had West Indies lost that particular match, Lloyd might have
been doomed. Well aware of the situation, Michael produced
blistering bowling, forcing Bedi to wave in surrender to umpires
Gosein and Sang Hue: in the second innings, five of India"s
batsmen were "absent hurt." What impressed most though, was the
poise. In school I had often "ribbed" him about his batting,
only to see him play that nerveless 55 when it mattered. Both
Bedi and Chandra, their reputations notwithstanding, must have
found his innings a trifle irreverent.
As for the job of getting opening batsmen out, to him, India
proved most obliging. In the three Test series he played,
Holding dislodged Gavaskar on 11 occasions and Gaekward on
eight. One of the more memorable outings was at Sabina Park
during the First Test in 1982. Pandemonium broke in the second
innings as with his opening delivery, coming over the wicket,
Gavaskar's leg stump went cartwheeling. In spite of this success
though, India were to inflict a major disappointment in
snatching the 1983 World Cup. Like an axe to brush, it seemed so
muscled a line-up would topple the 183 India had set. But alas
Michael was left to signal the celebration - lbw to Amarnath for
six. Nevertheless I will remember the level-headed conversation
he entertained after that stunning defeat, a time when other
cricketers may have been understandably unapproachable.
It's now the summer of 1976 and on to the lush of England - for
him the dream had come true. Even before the Duchess of Norfolk
welcomed the part to Arundel, tales of his exploits in Kingston
had washed ashore. The hosts were already scurrying for some
brave men. The series belonged to the West Indies before the
Fifth Test began at The Oval. The pitch there was so placid that
both sides ledgered double centurions. This was the setting that
Holding chose to generate unbelievable pace to return match
winning figures of 14 for 149. The press spewed superlatives.
Heroics against England aren't over yet. Five years later the
two teams again meet, this time in the Caribbean. It didn't seem
that 13 years had passed since we were huddled over radios as
Sobers trapped Boycott lbw for 90 in that Third Test in Barbados
on the '68 tour. That same batting technocrat, now armour-clad,
is still run-ravenous. He makes his way on to the same ground to
open against the West Indies for the 46th time. Little does he
suspect that the six deliveries he is about to receive from
Holding will be dubbed by many as six of the most testing ever
bowled. The resident second slip remembered the sequence: "The
one that bowled him wasn't as quick, but the first five - good
God."
By the time England again visited in 1986, signs of Michael's
departure were imminent. The left hamstring injury hobbled him
in the Kingston Test and yet he limped past his truncated mark
to treat the crowd to that patented glide one more time. He knew
for sure it was time to go. While the West Indian captain drew
on his victory cigar, Holding begged to be excused from going on
to Trinidad but asked to rejoin the tour in Barbados. The West
Indies Board, however, publicly chose to dissuade his
retirement. Resting him from the next tour to Pakistan, it
included him for both the World Series in Australia and the Test
series in New Zealand.
Every sportsman it seems has a nemesis. From the onset, New
Zealand was his. Anxious to return home after the historic win
in Australia, the team detoured there to play three Test matches
in 1980. Frustration - not entirely unprovoked, elicited his
ill-temper in Dunedin. The hosts went on to eke out the series
1-0. With hindsight he might not have allowed himself to be
lured back. This man is a true professional and does not pride
himself in jobs abandoned. As fate would script it , his fitness
failed in the First Test in Wellington in 1987. The 16 Kiwi Test
wickets, in the end, cost him 34 runs each, a little more than
his usual asking price.
Holding"s career has nevertheless been a remarkable one. It came
along on the leading edge of the West Indies" newly found
professionalism and enhanced pecuniary reward. In that same era,
the territory's cricket weathered trying times as it ruddered
through the Kerry Packer schism and South Africa"s tainted lucre
lure, to emerge stronger.
Clayton Goodwin is all encompassing in writing "Holding provided
an unprecedented blend of skill, artistry, devastation, and
technical perfection." To Holding the person, Dennis Lillee
might be justified in writing "Many have probably looked for a
way to dislike him, but it's impossible." As my acquaintance
endures, I continue to esteem his independent thinking and
straightforwardness.
At Sabina Park we will certainly miss those stoic walks towards
us, as we watch him eye the ball like a louped jeweller. All
this before he turns away to transform that innocuous jog into
that effortless sprint. But as the catching cordon prepares to
rivet its attention, let me turn you over to those gallant
warriors peering from behind their grilled masks.