Майкл Холдинг: От «Шепчущей Смерти» до борца с расизмом.

Jamaican cricketer and commentator
the filmmaker

Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering Death" due to his silent, light footed run up to the bowling crease. Holding was a key member of the West Indies team that won the 1979 Cricket World Cup, as well as finishing as runners up at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He had the most wickets for his team at the 1979 tournament. His bowling action was renowned for being smooth and extremely fast, and he used his height to generate large amounts of bounce and zip off the pitch. He was part of the fearsome West Indian pace bowling battery, together with Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Wayne Daniel, Malcolm Marshall and Sylvester Clarke, that devastated opposing batting line ups throughout the world in the late 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 September 2021, Holding announced his retirement from being a commentator.

Michael Holding was born on 16 February 1954, the youngest of four children to Ralph and Enid Holding who lived in Half Way Tree, Kingston. In an interview in 2020, Holding stated that his mother's family disowned her because her husband's skin was too dark. The family was passionate about sport, and only a few years after Michael was born his father enrolled him as a member of Melbourne Cricket Club in Kingston. At the age of three he was diagnosed with asthma, but by his early teenage years this had passed and 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 rather than watch.

Holding has written two autobiographies, the first of which, Whispering Death, was published in 1988 before he retired; and the second, No Holding Back, over 20 years later in 2010. In July 2021, Holding's third book—Why We Kneel, How We Rise—was published. Prompted by the positive public reaction to his comments, the book expands upon his theme of how institutionalised racism developed historically and how it affects people of colour, and includes contributions from notable sports stars such as Usain Bolt, Thierry Henry, Michael Johnson and Naomi Osaka. After retiring from cricket, Holding owned a petrol station in Kingston called "Michael Holding's Service Centre", employing several people who were members of Melbourne Cricket Club of which he was a member. The business was initially successful, though Holding found it stressful. Broadcasting began to take up more of his time, and while he was away the petrol station suffered so in 1995 he decided to sell. He also considered taking up umpiring, though not as a profession, and considered pursuing qualifications to umpire in domestic matches in Jamaica but his time was taken up with managing the petrol station and broadcasting.

Holding's career evolved after his retirement from active play. He had never aspired to becoming a commentator but was friends with a producer at Radio Jamaica who invited him to comment on cricket. This led to him working around the Caribbean, but at this stage work was not regular enough to be his main source of income. Holding made his transition from radio commentator to television in 1990 when cricket in the Caribbean was broadcast on television around the world for the first time. Two local commentators were chosen and Holding was picked alongside Tony Cozier at the latter's recommendation. The ICC created the Bowling Action Review Committee (BARC) in 1999, and on the recommendation of the WICB, Holding was one of the founding members of the committee. The role of the committee was to monitor players suspected of throwing using various video replays. The process of assessing a bowler's action has since become more scientific with more technology used and though the committee disbanded in 2005 it was influential in the ICC establishing the 15 degree maximum for bowlers straightening their arms in delivery. Even when working for the BARC, Holding was a strident critic of the ICC so in 2007 when he was approached to join the newly formed ICC cricket committee he thought a friend was playing a joke on him. Holding joined the committee and though he was initially optimistic quit in July 2008 in protest against the ICC's decision to overturn the result of the Oval Test between Pakistan and England, which was changed from a forfeit by Pakistan (who chose not to take the field in protest against being accused of ball tampering) to a draw. The forfeiture was later reinstated, and Holding resolved not to rejoin the committee.

Michael Holding has repeatedly and strongly criticized T20 cricket. Holding has stated "I don't think [twenty20] is good for the game It has its place but it will be bad unless those in charge manage it properly and I do not think they can because they are blinded by money. I can see Test cricket dying because of this." Despite this he was initially supportive of the Stanford 20/20, believing that the tournament funded by Allen Stanford, who had pledged to put large sums of money into domestic West Indies cricket, could revitalize the long time poorly funded domestic Caribbean cricket scene (the on field fortunes of the West Indies team had declined rapidly from the mid 1990s onwards). However, with the conception of the Stanford Super Series involving the England Cricket Board in 2008 he became critical of the venture, as he felt that funds which had previously been invested in domestic teams were no longer of any interest to Stanford. Regarding the IPL, Holding criticized West Indies players such as Jerome Taylor and Chris Gayle who were partaking the 2011 IPL season, rather than playing for their national sides during the home series against Pakistan at the time. He also criticized the West Indies Cricket Board for being too soft by allowing West Indian players to play the IPL, and giving them NOCs with ease. Holding also accused the BCCI for having too much power, and believed they were the main reason for the decline of the West Indies team as they promoted the IPL, and they were dictating the ICC. Holding, on numerous occasions, has stated that he does not consider the T20 format should even be classed as cricket. He has also stated that it is very difficult for West Indies cricket to return to the top in Test cricket because of T20 and its financial lure to the region's best players.

In July 2020, during a rain delay in the England v West Indies Test series, Holding was asked on Sky Sports by Ian Ward for his thoughts on the pre match kneeling of both teams in respect of the Black Lives Matter movement. His widely reported comments on his personal experience of, and his views on, institutionalised racism were widely welcomed as moving, sincere, and eloquently constructive.

Holding's first marriage was to Cherine Holding, a Sri Lankan, who he met when touring Australia in the late 1970s. Their son was born in 1981. He is now married to Laurie Ann Holding, an indigenous Antiguan; they have no children together. Holding has also fathered three other children from three other relationships, including a daughter born in 1979, and another daughter in 1988, both of whom have Jamaican mothers. During the COVID 19 pandemic, Holding spent much of his time in the Cayman Islands.

In June 1988, Holding was featured on the $2 Jamaican stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle. In May 2013, he received an Honorary Degree and Lifetime Achievement Award at the University of East London.