Michael Holding Names Best Fast Bowlers Across Generations
Updated - 15 Apr 2020, 08:40 PM
Ask the West Indies fast bowling legend Michael Holding, and he would say that, he could make merry of any batsmen during his time. In the 1976 cricket season in England, Michael Holding was a frightening sight for the batsmen. It was the final Test at Oval, where Michael Holding emerged as a top fast bowler, picking eight wickets in the first innings and six in the second. He did so on a lifeless wicket, where picking wickets, looked like a daunting task.
Dale Steyn makes cut in Michael Holding’s list of favourite bowlers
Michael Holding named Australia’s Dennis Lillee, his teammates Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts and modern-day great Dale Steyn in the list of his favourite fast bowlers. He also went on to explain his choices.
“Lillee had it all: rhythm, aggression control. He was extremely fast when he started, but he had to completely reshape his action after a back injury and find different ways to get hitters out after losing a lot of rhythm,” Holding said in a Sky Sports podcast.
“Malcolm started with a good rhythm, but as time went on he learned a lot about fast bowling. He could evaluate opposition hitters so quickly and so easily. In those days you didn’t have many tapes or computers, it was all in his head He understood how to deal with hitters,” said Holding
“Andy was someone I learned a lot from. He hardly ever spoke, he used to walk around the field with a sullen face and people thought he looked aggressive and must be a miserable guy. But that wasn’t Andy.”
“He was my roommate for most of my career and we used to talk about cricket almost every night. A lot of times, we would order food, we would stay in our room and talk about cricket. You would never believe how much this guy knows,” said Holding
Earlier, Holding, who also played alongside some of the finest batsmen on the international circuit named Sir Viv Richards as his favourite batsman. Holding shared the dressing room with Richards for a decade, saw his game closely, and feels he is an unsurpassed batsman.
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