Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954 in
Kingston,
Jamaica) is a former
West Indian cricketer. One of the fastest bowlers ever to play
Test cricket, he was nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by umpires due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease. Holding was an outstanding athlete as a
teenager and used skills acquired from running the
400 metres on the
cricket pitch, with one of the longest and most rhythmic
run-ups in world cricket. His
bowling was smooth and very fast, and he used his height () to generate large amounts of bounce and zip off the pitch. He was part of the fearsome West Indian pace battery, together with
Joel Garner,
Andy Roberts,
Sylvester Clarke,
Colin Croft,
Wayne Daniel and the late
Malcolm Marshall that devastated batting line-ups in the world throughout the seventies and early eighties. <br />
In June 1988 Holding was celebrated on the $2 Jamaican stamp alongside the
Barbados Cricket Buckle.
Career
He was a natural athlete as a young man. He is now a
broadcaster and is a member of the
Sky Sports cricket commentary team. During his
First class cricket career, Holding played for
Jamaica,
Canterbury,
Derbyshire,
Lancashire and
Tasmania.
Holding was the bowler in what is often described as "the greatest over in Test history", which he bowled in 1981 in
Bridgetown to English batsman
Geoff Boycott. The first five balls increased in pace, causing Boycott to have to react very rapidly to avoid being hit. The final ball saw Boycott...
Read More