Michael Holding is a man of conviction. He says what he believes with passion and resoluteness. To describe him as a cricketer does not do justice to the totality of the man. One gets the feeling that he would have been successful in any career path that he chose. Cricket lovers are indeed lucky that he chose cricket as the vehicle to express himself.
One cannot help but marvel at his athleticism as he ran in to bowl from almost the boundary line. His run-up has been described in many ways. It has been called fluid, rhythmic, graceful, lengthy, smooth, languid and effortless. Notably it has also been described as ‘poetry in motion.’ He was called the Rolls Royce of fast bowlers and the English test umpire, Dickie Bird, called him Whispering Death. Most fast bowlers thunder in when bowling but this umpire could not hear him running in. He was light on his feet and as quiet as a well-oiled machine.
In 1976, before the first test match of the West Indies tour of England, the English captain, one Tony Grieg, who had been born in South Africa, said that he intended to make the West Indies team grovel. Michael Holding and the other members of the team did not take kindly to the words of the English captain.
The entire English team were made to suffer for the words of their captain who did not recognize that his words would have caused these proud West Indian men to summon the spirits of their brothers in South Africa who were suffering under the evil system of apartheid.
The West Indies won the series convincingly and it was the England skipper who groveled in the end as he was repeatedly dismissed for low scores. In the fifth and final test of the series, a fired-up Michael Holding took 8 wickets in the first innings and 6 in the second innings.
Michael Holding later refused large sums of money to join rebel tours to South Africa. He like, Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Clive LLoyd and others, refused to play in South Africa because they would have to be designated as honorary whites under their apartheid system. No amount of money in their eyes was worth that humiliation.
It is often said about professional athletes that they stay in the game too long after it has become obvious that their skills have diminished and they are mere shadows of themselves.
This was not the case with Michael Holding. Many have said that he retired from cricket in his prime and that he had a lot more to give. He did not see it that way, and he retired when he was just 33 years old. His transition to the commentators’ booth was as smooth and seamless as his run up to bowl, with the deadly pace that earned him the moniker ‘Whispering Death’.
His success as a cricket commentator is legendary. He first worked as a radio commentator in his homeland, Jamaica, and then moved on to become a stalwart for Sky Sports in the UK and SuperSport in South Africa.
In 2021, he announced his retirement as a commentator after he had given an impassioned plea to end racism in sport and in all walks of life. His plea was so emotional and heartfelt that athletes in other sports reached out to him regarding their own experiences with racism, notably soccer superstar Thierry Henry and tennis phenom Naomi Osaka.
Michael Holding’s latest book, Why We Kneel and How We Rise came out of discussions he had with several professional athletes. His plea to end racism also caused him to become involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
I had read his two previous books, Whispering Death and No Holding Back and had long come to the conclusion that Michael Holding was no ordinary man. How could he be ordinary when he could bowl a cricket ball at a recorded 95 miles per hour? How could he be ordinary when he expressed his feelings in the commentary booth with such eloquence and passion that caused millions of people listening to take note.
It was these thoughts in mind, that I asked a friend if he could arrange a lunch meeting for me with Michael Holding on an upcoming visit to Grand Cayman where he now lives. To my delight, he agreed to the meeting. After all, how often do you get to meet and have lunch with one of your heroes?
The answer is undoubtedly not often. What I expected to be a 90-minute lunch meeting turned into a seven-hour chat, with him taking me to a wonderful Jamaican restaurant in George Town and then a tour around the island. We chatted about his views on cricket, especially his dislike for T20 cricket and his love for Test cricket.
In his words, Test cricket is a metaphor for life. The vicissitudes of life are mirrored in Test cricket. The ‘glorious uncertainties’ of cricket can be found more so in the format of Test cricket than in the other formats. Our conversation also drifted away from cricket and touched on the politics and politicians of our beloved Caribbean.
It was evident that he was not a fan of politics. This surprised me because I got the feeling that his integrity, passion, humility, conviction for the things he believes in and his love for the Caribbean people would have made him an excellent leader in politics.
He appeared quite comfortable with his decision to retire from the commentary box and continue his passion for racial justice. He believes strongly that the process will be long and arduous but it is a cause for which he will be dedicated to because he wants his grandchildren and future generations not to be defined or judged by the colour of their skin.
Michael Holding knows this subject well because he has experienced this hurt, even in his own family. When speaking about this matter on television, he broke down in tears as he said that his relatives on his maternal side had stopped speaking with his mother because she had married a man, his father, whose skin was ‘dark’. His tears showed us his humanity.
Michael Holding is a giant of a man, not in size, he is about 6ft 3in tall and weighs no more than 180 pounds, but his contribution to the game of cricket, to the Caribbean people and indeed to the world with his new venture fighting for racial justice are immeasurable. His place in the annals of history by his brilliance on and off the cricket field is assured.
“The first duty of a man is to think for himself.” Those are the words of Jose Marti. Michael Anthony Holding is a man who unreservedly thinks for himself.
By: Ronan Matthew
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