Calmness that changed the Caribbeans

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You got big shoes to fill in, if you hail from the lands of Garner, Greenidge, Haynes, Marshall & Sobers. Contrast to the Caribbean aggression, Jason Holder is a calm & quiet character. At the age of 23, when he was barely recognised as a future talent, the selection Panel headed by Sir Clive Lloyd appointed him West Indies' ODI captain in 2014. A year later, he took over the Test team too, indicating how much the WICB and men in the know believed in this man.

In the history of Cricket, only extreme world situations have forced Cricket to stop in the past. The most recent being the Pandemic of 2020. Cricket came to a halt for over 4 months worldwide. Cricket enthusiasts would know what it means to lose 4 months of International Cricket for a player.

Jason Holder kept growing through the multiple defeats as well as few shining in his first 3 years of captaincy. When he took over, the West Indies team had many senior players including Chris Gayle - The Universe Boss, the way he likes to call himself. So the task was pretty much cut out. The problems in the Windies teams kept on increasing by the day. Whether it is the players fee dispute, or the never ending West Indies Cricketers Association tiff with their Board. Holder had to wade through all of it.

After months of uncertainty and many mega events cancellations, the Tour of West Indies to England was greenlit. What otherwise would have become a regular series with Windies being the underdogs, as usual, this series became a landmark in International Cricket as this marked the beginning of Live Cricket after months. But the pressure & fear of anyone being tested positive was looming large in the back of the mind of everyone. The WI players were tested once before their departure & were allowed to go ahead once tested negative. That was not all, they landed in England and were tested again after having their breakfast at a ground restaurant. But the happiness for the fans worldwide was clearly visible as this was the first time, a lot of fans across the world were waiting for the resumption of Cricket even if their home team was not playing.

Holder as a Captain was extremely different from his predecessors. He was way too introverted off field, less expressive on field and stayed off any controversial actions or words. In the current lot of Captains across all the teams, his name comes pretty close to Kane Williamson who is an epitome of goodness. His calmness also helped the battered Windies team stay together and fight their battles. When Kieron Pollard took over as ODI captain last year, Holder did not have ODI records to show, but he had given a shape to the Windies team. On the other hand, he had a better performance in Tests where WI have improved both their win percentage at home & away compared to 2001 -2010.

The West Indies cricket team, led by captain Jason Holder, has left for England after the entire touring party tested negative for the coronavirus. West Indies and England will square off in a three-match Test series that gets underway from July 8 in Hampshire. The players were reportedly picked from the various islands before being flown together via a chartered flight and arrived in Manchester on 9th of June, as underdogs.

Jason Holder ensured WI played fair Cricket and his perseverance paid off eventually. The team started settling in, results were coming their way less then they would have liked, but they were fighting, something the Caribbeans were missing for quite some time. Jason Holder led his team to this memorable first match after the Covid19 Pandemic and his intent was clear. To give the best shot and find the slightest of the opportunity. He backed players like Blackwood who has been in & out of the West Indies team all the while and it paid off.

On the morning of 8th July, English fans were not exactly happy to see Broad not in the squad. No one was bothered much by the WI squad, usual & few low-key names. The first innings of England was ripped through by Gabriel who bowled striking spells in the morning who took the first three wickets. Then came Holder, who got his career best figures with the next 6 English wickets in his kitty. He & Gabriel shared all 10 England wickets. And from there was no looking back. West Indies took a lead of 114 in the first innings. They set a target of 200 for Windies to chase in their fourth innings. A fifth day pitch is mostly a nightmare to bat. And by lunch, WI were reduced to 35 for 3 wickets with one of their openers retiring hurt. Entered Blackwood and scored a solid 95 to make sure there are no more hiccups in the chase. West Indies came out victorious with Holder watching the winning runs being scored from the non-striker's end.


West Indies went 1-0 up in England for the first time since 2000. Holder became the third most successful test Captain of West Indies, only behind Clive Lloyd & Vivian Richards, surpassing Brian Lara. Cricket made a comeback & as they say, Cricket was the winner.