Thursday, March 28, 2024

TONY COZIER: Bad days not keeping skipper Holder down

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THE CONCERN WAS GENUINE, widespread and well founded.

Clive Lloyd’s appointment of Jason Holder as new West Indies captain for an initiation in South Africa against South Africa, one of the game’s present powerhouses, followed by the pressure of the World Cup seemed too great a burden to place on the youngest of all West Indies skippers.

Holder was 23, with just 21 ODIs to his name. He had never led even his native Barbados. His task coincided with an especially turbulent time, as Chris Gayle, the most experienced and prominent member of the team, openly seethed over the omissions of Dwayne Bravo, the man Holder replaced as captain, and Kieron Pollard from the squad for the World Cup.

Along with a host of doubting Thomases, I was concerned about the timing of his elevation even after Ezra Moseley, the former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler who was coach when Holder led The St Michael School team as an early teen, assured me he had no such qualms.

As predictably difficult as the campaign has been, Holder has shown, in his ten ODIs at the helm, the character essential for successful leadership.

He oversaw a 4-1 thrashing in the five ODIs in South Africa and now awaits results of the team’s final pool match against the United Arab Emirates and the simultaneous clash between Pakistan and Ireland today (last night East Caribbean time) to determine whether they advance to the World Cup quarter-finals.

In spite of such a record, respect and admiration have come from prominent quarters.

Commenting on the World Cup for television and Press from Australia, Brian Lara, a modern legend of West Indies cricket, saw Holder “developing into the kind of leader who will give years of service to West Indies cricket, given the right kind of support”. He went as far as to expect him to eventually be captain in all three formats.

Holder’s bowling has not escaped the heavy punishment in South Africa and the World Cup or criticism for some of his tactical decisions. He hasn’t allowed either to undermine the belief that he is up for the job.

In his second match at the helm, against South Africa in Johannesberg, he was pummelled for seven sixes in conceding 91 from nine overs as the marauding AB deVilliers’ 149 off 44 balls powered South Africa to the second highest total in ODIs.

When the West Indies were skittled for 122 in the next match, Holder might have headed back to his hotel room, locked the door, plonked his 6 feet-7 inch frame on the bed and covered his head with the blanket in self-pity.

Instead, he summoned his players, all his seniors and among them three captains before him, to give them a stern talking to. Their only victory in the series followed in the next match.

When deVilliers’ unbeaten 162 off 66 balls mugged them again in the World Cup pool match in Sydney, Holder chose to bowl the closing overs himself. It exposed him to one of one-day cricket’s most spectacular canings.

He was taken for 34 and 30 from his final two overs as his pitch map on the TV screen became as mottled as a spilt box of M&Ms.

Yet again, Holder didn’t take refuge in his remote hotel room.

“It’s cricket. You have good days, you have bad days,” he said.

For the moment, there was another tough match, against India in Perth, to concentrate on. “I’m not too disheartened from it. I’m just looking forward to coming back stronger.”

DeVilliers remained only briefly in his thoughts in Sydney. With a target of 409 clearly out of reach, the need to at least limit damage to the net run rate apparently didn’t dawn on his top-order batsmen. From 63-7, Holder showed them the way with a composed 56 as he, Denesh Ramdin and Jerome Taylor raised 88 for the last three wickets.

The pattern was followed against India a week later. Once again his level-headed batting for 57 carried the total from an abject 85-7 to 182 all out. It presented his fast bowlers with a flicker of hope that was eventually extinguished as India scraped to victory.

Lara’s main censure was aimed at “several of the so-called senior men on the team (who) should hold their heads in shame after watching how sensibly he [Holder] batted”.

Jarrod Kimber, reporting on the match for ESPNcricinfo, put it succinctly: “Holder made mistakes, but without him, there would have been no mistakes to make. Holder opened up the match. Holder held the match up. Holder made the match a match.”

Another ESPNcricinfo writer, Firdose Moonda, emailed me before today’s match: “Looks like WI could reach quarters. I hope they do. Holder deserves something.”

He certainly does.

Tony Cozier is the most experienced cricket writer and commentator in the Caribbean.

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