Michael Holding

Did You Know?

• Holding broke the record for best bowling figures in a Test match by a West Indies bowler in 1976, taking 14 wickets for 149 runs; the record still stands.
• He was featured on a $2 Jamaican stamp in June 1988 alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle.
• In May 2013, he received an Honorary Degree and Lifetime Achievement Award at the University of East London.

Early life

Michael Holding was born on 16 February 1954 in Half Way Tree, Kingston, the youngest of four children of Ralph and Enid Holding. His mother's family disowned her because her husband's skin was too dark. His father enrolled him in Melbourne Cricket Club when he was young. Diagnosed with asthma at age three, he outgrew it by his early teens. He played sports in scrubland near home and preferred playing cricket to watching it.

Cricketing career

Holding made his Test debut in late 1975 on a six-Test tour of Australia, opening the bowling with Andy Roberts after Bernard Julien lost form. In the second Test he bowled as fast as 97 mph with a groin strain, timed faster than Jeff Thomson. Australia won the series 5–1; Holding took 10 wickets at over 60 runs each, but Wisden noted he had established himself. In March, India toured the West Indies for a four-Test series. With Andy Roberts rested, Holding led the attack, taking 19 wickets at under 20 runs each, second in the series to B. S. Chandrasekhar, and helped his team win 2–1.

Post-playing career

Holding has written two autobiographies: 'Whispering Death' (1988) and 'No Holding Back' (2010). A third book, 'Why We Kneel, How We Rise', was published in July 2021, expanding on institutionalised racism with contributions from sports figures. After retiring, he owned a petrol station in Kingston called 'Michael Holding's Service Centre', employing Melbourne Cricket Club members. The business was initially successful but stressful; he sold it in 1995 as broadcasting took more time. He considered umpiring in Jamaican domestic matches but was occupied with the station and broadcasting. His commentary career began at Radio Jamaica, then moved to television in 1990 when Caribbean cricket was first broadcast globally, chosen alongside Tony Cozier.

Personal life

Holding first married Cherine, a Sri Lankan he met while touring Australia in the late 1970s; they had a son in 1981. His current wife is Laurie-Ann, an indigenous Antiguan, and they have no children. He also has three other children from three separate relationships, including daughters born in 1979 and 1988. During the pandemic, he lived mostly in the Cayman Islands.