Michael Holding

Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a former West Indian cricketer. One of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket, he was nicknamed Whispering Death by umpires due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease. His bowling was smooth and very fast, and he used his height (6 ft) to generate large amounts of bounce and zip off the pitch. He was part of the fearsome West Indian pace battery, together with Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Sylvester Clarke, Colin Croft, Wayne Daniel and the late Malcolm Marshall that devastated batting line-ups throughout the world in the 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 June 1988 Holding was celebrated on the $2 Jamaican stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle.

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