"You have to be born a fast bowler" : Michael Holding

PakPassion.net recently spoke with the legend in an exclusive and on-the-record wide-ranging interview, in which the Jamaican answered a variety of questions on his career and on world cricket more generally with his customary charm, intelligence and unparalleled experience of the game built over the past four decades.

by Yasser Alvi

06 March 2011

"You have to be born a fast bowler" : Michael Holding

There are many cricketing arts that are unique to this beautiful game; the glorious Michael Vaughan or Mohammad Yousuf cover drive, executed with impeccable timing, style and grace; the majestic Ian Chappell or Gordon Greenidge hook-shot, played with utter disdain; the delightful Inzi square cut when the ball is summarily dismissed from the batsman's presence; and of course the sheer wizardry and guile of a true leg-spin genius a la Shane Warne.

However, the purest cricketing art, the one which gets our pulses racing like no other, delights the connoisseurs and thrills the crowds, is fast bowling.

Fast bowlers, running in from a distance, terrifying the batsmen through genuine pace and not boring them into a stupor by soporific military medium trundlers, are the lifeblood of the great cricketing contests.

Genuine fast bowling can still excite, exhilarate and invigorate cricket fans of all colours and stripes like nothing else can. This is borne out by the awe, unbounded admiration, genuine affection and nostalgia with which cricket fans the world over, regardless of their allegiance, mention the great fast bowlers of the 1970s and 80s; in particular, for the many legendary West Indians of that era.

When it comes to sheer mastery over both the art and the science of fast bowling, there are few in the entire history of cricket to match one such legendary West Indian: Michael Anthony Holding. Described by Imran Khan, a contemporary and an all-time fast bowling great himself, as the most gifted bowler he ever saw, and also the one who bowled the fastest spells Imran had ever come across. And it wasn't just pace alone; Holding was so much more than that. In the words of Imran, no slouch when it came to judging fast bowlers and their talents, Holding "could do everything with the ball: he could swing it, he could move it off the pitch, and he could obtain awkward bounce from well-pitched up deliveries".

He possessed the smoothest and most natural bowling action imaginable; it was, for those who saw it, poetry in motion. Holding was also renowned for his quiet, stealthy approach to the crease, which led to the umpires naming him "Whispering Death". Despite this, he was ferociously, phenomenally fast; as noted by many contemporaries, including former cricketer and respected cricket writer Mike Selvey, "No-one in the game has bowled faster".

Holding is also credited with bowling the greatest cricket over of all time at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown; certainly, it was the greatest that has been caught on camera. The batsman was one Geoffrey Boycott, no mug with the bat. It is not often that the great Yorkshireman is lost for words; that morning in 1981 was one such very rare occasion, when Boycott, in the words of Frank Keating, a contemporary observer, was left agape, and "he tottered as if he'd seen the Devil himself".

It was, Mike Selvey was to note later, "the finest, fastest, most ferocious gambit of all time". Genuine fast bowling can do that; breach defences that were hitherto thought impenetrable. No surprise then that for most of us avid followers of the game, some of our greatest cricketing memories are built on witnessing remarkable fast bowling exploits.

PakPassion.net recently spoke with the legend in an exclusive and on-the-record wide-ranging interview, in which the Jamaican answered a variety of questions on his career and on world cricket more generally with his customary charm, intelligence and unparalleled experience of the game built over the past four decades.

Michael Holding on taking up coaching

Given his immense natural talent, his unerring ability to correctly read the game and offer insights, and his honest and unbiased approach, a coaching role might have been a good fit for Holding; after all, many former greats of the game take up such roles after retirement.

However, Holding believes a full-time coaching position does not suit his temperament. "My mother was a teacher but I didn't get her patience for coaching or teaching. I don't have the patience to coach", he stated.

Holding clarified that his doors remain open for aspiring cricketers from all over the world, and everyone was welcome to benefit from his guidance and wisdom and even to work with him in the nets. "I have helped out a lot of cricketers from all over the world – not only fast bowlers, but also different cricketers who have come to me and sought my advice. I have made it to the nets with some of the West Indian cricketers, fast bowlers in particular. But I could not see myself coaching professionally. I couldn't do that as a job because as I said, I just haven't got the patience!", he continued.

The 57 year old noted how cricket has changed since his era, with the introduction of extensive support teams of coaches and trainers for the cricketers. "That's the way the game has changed. As I said, times change, things change. In my time, we didn't have all those coaches. We had a manager, an assistant manager and we had a captain. It was not till World Series Cricket came along when we had a physiotherapist who travelled with us and we still didn't have a coach", he said.

"But times have changed now. Teams have sixteen members in their squad and they have twelve or thirteen support staff. They have a nutritionist, a physiotherapist and they have coaches – specialist coaches for fielding, batting and bowling. I don't have a problem with it. Times have changed – you have to specialise, and you need to get people who can do these specific jobs that different people in the team require. I have no problem with it", stated Holding.

Michael Holding on "making" a fast bowler

Michael Holding was in strong agreement with the view that 'Fast bowlers are born, not made', and mere coaching, gym work or fitness routines could not turn trundlers into fast bowlers. "You can't make a fast bowler. You can't take anyone and put them in a gymnasium and give them whatever exercises and strengthen their body and turn out a fast bowler", was his unequivocal assessment.

"You have to be born a fast bowler. You've got to have the rhythm and the coordination and everything else that it takes to bowl that fast. Strength, hard work and practice alone cannot make a fast bowler. It’s not just physical – it’s a lot of other things combined", he stated.

Michael Holding on fast-bowling standards around the world

Compared to the 1980s, global fast bowling stocks appear to have deteriorated significantly, with very few genuine pacers still playing Test cricket on a regular basis. Holding shared this view when asked about current fast bowlers; "Well, there's only one right now – Dale Steyn. He is the only fast bowler in the world playing Test match cricket right now and that's impressive. The rest of them are either injured, not playing on a regular basis or have retired".

Holding was quick to clarify that bowling military medium with an occasion 'faster delivery' does not make one a 'fast bowler'. "And when I say fast bowlers, I am not talking about people who bowl 80 miles an hour. Those are not fast bowlers. I am talking about people pushing 90 miles an hour".

Over-work, fixture congestion, and lack of appropriate recovery time after injuries were cited by Holding as the key reasons why modern day fast bowlers do not last long at Test level, and are either injured, such as West Indian hopefuls Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, or have given up on Test cricket altogether. "A lot of the fast bowlers – not just West Indian fast bowlers – get injured on a regular basis these days because of the amount of cricket that they play. Look around the world right now and tell me the number of fast bowlers who are playing Test cricket".

It is well-established that bowling fast, repeatedly and for long spells, places a strain on the body that's matched by few if any other sporting pursuits, and hence the shorter careers for most modern-day fast bowlers. Holding shares the frustration of cricket fans. "Brett Lee is a young man, he retired from Test match cricket because he could not take the strain. He is playing the shorter form of the game and playing it quite successfully. Shaun Tait – well, he retired even before Brett Lee! And I think he might be younger than Brett Lee. Look around the world and see how many fast bowlers are really left? Shane Bond – he was constantly on and off the field".

"Again, when I say fast bowlers, I'm not talking about people who run in from 40 yards or 30 yards. I'm talking about people who are bowling close to 90 miles an hour – that's what I call a fast bowler. There aren't many around the world right now. Dale Steyn is the only one who bowls at that pace and can maintain that pace on a regular basis and can maintain that pace and produce results", he concluded.

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