Michael Holding

Michael Holding

Personal information
Full name	Michael Anthony Holding
Born	(1954-02-16) 16 February 1954 (age 70) Kingston, Jamaica
Nickname	Whispering Death,[1] Mikey
Height	192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	West Indies (1975-1987)
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
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 60 102 222 249 Runs scored 910 282 3,600 1,575 Batting average 13.78 9.09 15.00 12.30 100s/50s 0/6 0/2 0/14 0/7 Top score 73 64 80 69 Balls bowled 12,680 5,473 38,877 12,662 Wickets 249 142 778 343 Bowling average 23.68 21.36 23.43 20.62 5 wickets in innings 13 1 39 3 10 wickets in match 2 0 5 0 Best bowling 8/92 5/26 8/92 8/21 Catches/stumpings 22/– 30/– 125/– 81/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  West Indies ICC Cricket World Cup Winner 1979 England Runner-up 1983 England and Wales
Source: CricInfo, 24 May 2009

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 (192 cm (6 ft 4 in)) 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.^[2]