During the early days of his West
Indies career the development
of Holding’s fast bowling skills
benefited tremendously from
his roommate exposure to Andy Roberts,
whom he has always regarded as a genius
in terms of his abilities to assess the relative
strengths and weaknesses of opposition
batsmen. Roberts was in so many ways a
mentor to Holding who was constantly
learning from actually playing, sharing
downtime and rooming with him. Perhaps
the most important skill Holding learned
from his association with Andy Roberts was
how to think about various ways of getting
batsmen out.
For most of Mikey Holding’s career as
a West Indies fast bowler, the level of
competition for a place on the team and
the number of individuals vying for inclusion
was also so high that any prolonged period
of sub-par performances on his part would
have inevitably resulted in him being
subsequently dropped.
There were of course times during a Test match or even a
Series when the wickets might have become
hard to come by. Those momentary drops
in wicket-taking production had to be just
as quickly corrected as a means of avoiding
losing his place to those who were readily
available from the sidelines.” There were
just too many people around just waiting to
get in!”
The sense of camaraderie among the
original West Indies four-prong pace attack
of Roberts, Holding, Garner, and Croft, was
indeed so great that they supported, fed
off and learned from each other. They were
constantly chatting among themselves
both on and off the field, sharing strengths,
identifying weaknesses and being totally
supportive of each other in every possible
manner.
So much so that there was absolutely no need for any outside Coach to tell any of them
what or what not to do, they understand each other’s games so well. Again even on the field,
they were constantly advising each other. Their collective goal was always to capture the
twenty wickets required to win a Test match, It didn’t really matter who got the lion’s share
of wickets from one Test to the next, only that collectively they got the job done by capturing
all twenty!
Despite his own West Indies experience of not having that many
coaches associated with the team, if any at all, Holding doesn’t have
any issues with the number of coaching staff members that have
become such a major part of contemporary teams. His view is
that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either individual
players or teams having as many coaches as are deemed to be
necessary. Issues arise however when some of those coaches
out of the necessity of justifying their salaries start interfering
too much to the detriment of either the player and or the
team. On the flip side, he also understands, however, why some
Coaches may feel the need to justify their engagement by
being as actively involved as possible.
Despite the prevalence and availability of as
many coaches as there are in contemporary
international cricket, Mickey Holding still
believes that the players are themselves
primarily responsible for their own
development. They are the ones who
should not only know their respective
strengths and weaknesses, but further
they should also recognize and
engage in what is most required to
improve their own game. Rather than
depending upon any coach their
success as cricketers should largely
be of their own making.
“In other words, don’t just sit
around waiting on the Coaches
to tell you what to do, be
proactive and help yourself!”
Holding’s non-involvement with
West Indies cricket, during the last
decade or so that has passed since he
was prevented from being involved as a
Commentator on the regional international cricket series has unfortunately reduced
his actual contact with the greater majority
of those who are playing at the Caribbean
Region’s highest levels. As such he doesn’t now
receive many requests for guidance from any
West Indies cricketers as the only time they
occupy the same space is when the West Indies
are on to either England or South Africa. By
contrast, before the ban and during the days
when he was around the team far more often, a
lot of the previous fast bowlers including Merv
Dillon, Franklyn Rose, Reon King and more
recently Jerome Taylor, used to be seeking his
advice.
The failure of its current cricketers to seek
the mentorship advice of legends such as
Mickey Holding, in the same manner, as he as
a youngster benefited from Andy Roberts’
counseling may indeed be one of the many
reasons for the dismal, bottom-ranked,
performances of the West Indies team for the
past twenty-plus years. Holding’s personal
belief, however, is that the advent of T20 cricket
and all of its associated evils has been a far
greater detriment.
“T2o cricket has destroyed and devalued West
Indies cricket in that we haven’t got the money
to retain our best players. They are all looking
to make a better living for themselves, so they
dedicate their energies and activities to the
shortest form. They are constantly playing
all over the world and as such cannot at the
same time be available to play either for the
West Indies or even more importantly in our
domestic regional competitions!
There’s absolutely nothing that we can do
about that now. Attempting to do so would be
the same as trying to put the toothpaste back into
its tube! What we can do however, is to put in
place in the various countries and territories the
type of infrastructure that will encourage more
people to play cricket. As a sport cricket now
has to be made far more accessible to as many
people as possible as a means of encouraging
them to become actively involved as players.
This might not have been necessary years go
because interest back then was far greater
and individuals wanted to become involved of
their own accord. There were also far fewer
activities for youngsters to become involved
with. Cricket, football and athletics were more
or less the only available choices. Now there
are so many other activities available to today’s
youth!”
Holding’s most recent visit to his former
Jamaica High School provided a major surprise
of his witnessing some students actively playing
lacrosse. That was a sight he’d never thought he
would ever see in all of Jamaica, let alone at his
alma mater Kingston College.
“There will now always be those who prefer to play T20 cricket, but if you more
individuals playing the game, even after they have left there will be enough good
players remaining to form a decent Test team!”
Holding suggests that the pathways for progression through the levels of Caribbean
regional cricket may still exist today just as they did in his heyday. The number of
opportunities to get onto such pathways, as well as the level of interest in doing so has
however decreased significantly. As a direct example Kingston College, which during his
attendance had scores of students competing for places on its available cricket teams,
now hardly has enough players to fill a single team.
The reduced number of students now actively playing cricket at the school level has
resulted in a significant reduction of available talent. “Cream rises to the top” but only as a direct result of intense competition.
“If there are now barely fifteen players competing for the eleven places on the team,
mediocrity, as opposed to excellence, will be far more likely to prevail than if there
were thirty-five!”
The lack of active participation in significant numbers at all foundational levels, from
schools to clubs has therefore been a major factor influencing the deterioration in the
standards of West Indies cricket.Holding who still visits his club Melbourne
regularly whenever he is in Jamaica,
oftentimes almost every evening, says that
there’s a notable difference in the number of
players present at net practices, In contrast
back in his day net practices used to be held
on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday
evenings. More often than not there were
so many players present that some batsmen
would actually have to wait until the Thursday
before they could get a chance to bat.
In Mikey Holding’s view the deterioration of
pitches throughout the Caribbean has also
been a major factor in the decline of West
Indies’ fortunes in international cricket.
“If you don’t have good pitches, you can’t
produce good players!”
India has since become a primary example of
the positive effects that can be derived from
producing good pitches. India was previously
regarded both as a haven for spin bowlers, as
well as a Test cricket country that was only
capable of producing cricketers who could
perform at their best only at home and never
abroad. Wholesale changes to India’s pitches
countrywide have since not only produced
some of the world’s very best fast bowlers,
but also batsmen who are fully capable of
making runs both at home and overseas.
India’s pitches have improved radically within
the past decade. So much so that as far back as
2014, during the West Indies’ subsequently
abandoned tour, while doing the pitch
reports with his fellow Commentator: India’s
legendary former opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar and witnessing the grass-topped pitches that were on offer, Holding couldn’t help but comment that he’d wished they had been of similar nature during their playing days! India’s pitches now routinely offer good above waist high bounce at pace which forces
batsmen to learn how to play such deliveries. A much-improved contrast to the previous
slow, very ordinary pitches which allowed batsmen far more time to play their strokes.
Not having had the benefit of direct exposure to Caribbean pitches within recent times,
Holding isn’t exactly sure as to the underlying causes for their deterioration. It could well
be that the pitches have become old over time and need to be revamped. The soils that are
being used may also not be conducive to the development of good pitches.
In addition to greater interest in cricket being stimulated by increased accessibility and
the provision of better pitches, Mikey Holding also strongly believes that what’s now
most urgently needed for the restoration of West Indies cricket is a Board that is far more
transparent in its activities.
“A Board which everyone can see how and why they are operating as they are! In
other words a bit of transparency! People don’t support organizations that have
no transparency. And we need support particularly from sponsors, for without
money we can’t do anything! Money is needed to filter through all the various levels
and to provide the infrastructure that is now required for there to be meaningful
improvement in our cricket!”
An infusion of corporate sponsorship to provide the required funding for the necessary
infrastructural development has therefore become an urgent requirement for West Indies
cricket. As Holding suggests, Caribbean governments can now no longer be relied on
as major sources of sports funding. There are simply too many other demands on their
available resources.
“Sponsors will only go towards organizations that are transparent and from which
they think they can receive the expected value for their investment contributions!
Sponsors are not going to feel “sorry” for West Indies cricket and just get involved.
There are also not that many Caribbean Corporations capable of putting huge
amounts of funding towards West Indies cricket. As such it will be the international
corporations that will not only have to be targeted but far more importantly also
convinced as to the value that will be derived as a direct result of their involvement!”
Solid suggestions from a former West Indies fast-bowling great who since his retirement
has become globally recognized as one of international cricket’s most popular and widely
respected TV Commentators. Advice and suggestions that those now responsible for
West Indies cricket would do well to heed and follow.