Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding was at the Smith Road Oval on Sunday, not for a game of cricket, but to give back to young Caymanians entering the sport.
“I have been trying to give back to this game for many many years. Even from when I was playing and in my commentary time, I tried to help cricketers from all over the world,” Holding told the Compass.
Around 20 young people, aged 8 to 17, soaked in everything Holding had to say, which included offering tips on their techniques during the combined bowling clinic and Q&A event, put on by Cayman Cricket, in partnership with Cayman National Bank.
He said he had been asked to chat to youngsters in Cayman at similar events in the late 1990s to the early 2000s when Theo Cuffy was cricket coach and technical director.
“Now that I am living here, it’s a lot easier because before it was a matter of whenever I visited,” he said. “I’m quite happy to… have a chat with the cricketers and I want them to understand that I am not here to lecture anybody, or preach to anybody or make a speech to anybody; whatever I say will be in conversation because as far as I am concerned that is the only way I see people learn.”
Regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history, especially through the 1970s and 1980s, Holding then moved on to an illustrious commentating career before retiring in from the sport in 2021.
He then wrote an award-winning book – ‘Why We Kneel, How We Rise’ – in the hope of spreading the message of equality and ending systemic racism.
Despite all his accomplishments, Holding said it all means nothing if you don’t help the next one in line.
“Without cricket, a lot of us would be unknown,” he said. “We wouldn’t be able to live the lifestyle that we live.”
The young aspiring bowlers listened intently to Holding, who believes it is best for kids to begin early in the sport in order for them to be successful in the long term.
“It’s very important to start people in cricket from a tender age,” he said. “You don’t want them to develop bad habits and then find it difficult to change those bad habits or correct those habits later in the game.”
Holding, known in his competitive cricketing days as ‘Whispering Death’ due to his silent, light-footed run-up to the bowling crease, noted that his preferred position on the pitch wasn’t necessarily the most popular but it was equally important.
“Bowlers don’t get a lot of the limelight in cricket, unless you do something exceptional,” he said. “Batsmen mostly gets the limelight… but I have said to so many people, if you do not get 20 wickets in a test match, you are not going to win that test match.
“So, bowling is very important. And the bowlers need to realise how important they are to their team.”
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