Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Michael Anthony Holding | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Kingston, Colony of Jamaica |
16 February 1954 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | Whispering Death | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting style | Right-hand batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling style | Right-arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap 153) | 28 November 1975 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 24 February 1987 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI debut (cap 18) | 26 August 1976 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last ODI | 30 January 1987 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1973–1989 | Jamaica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1981 | Lancashire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1982–83 | Tasmania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1983–1989 | Derbyshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1987–88 | Canterbury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: cricinfo.com, 24 May 2009 |
Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) 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. His bowling was smooth and very fast, and he used his height (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in or 1.918 m) 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 throughout the world in the seventies and early eighties. Early in his Test career, in 1976, Holding broke the record for best bowling figures in a Test match by a West Indies bowler, 14 wickets for 149 runs (14/149). The record still stands. During his first-class cricket career, Holding played for Jamaica, Canterbury, Derbyshire, Lancashire and Tasmania. In June 1988 Holding was celebrated on the $2 Jamaican stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle. Holding recorded an amazing feat of bowling 5473 deliveries, without bowling a single wide, the most by any player in Cricket history.
Michael Holding was born on 16 February 1954, the youngest of four children to Ralph and Enid Holding who lived in Kingston. The family was passionate about sport, and only a few days after Michael was born his father enrolled him as a member of Melbourne Cricket Club at Kingston. At the age of three he was diagnosed with asthma, but by his early teenage years he no longer needed an inhaler. He led an active life, playing sport in the scrubland and wooded areas near his home. Though his family would often watch the cricket at Sabina Park, Holding preferred to play Catchy Shubby Cricket than watch.