Michael Holding Hints At Retirement From Cricket Commentary

Veteran cricket commentator Michael Holding has said that he will soon retire from commentary in the coming days. Holding began his commentating career in 1991 in the Caribbean and currently works with Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Supersport in South Africa. But, after 29 years in the commentary booth, Holding says the end is drawing near.

The 66-year-old former West Indies fast bowler was speaking on Mason on Guest from the Cayman Islands on Tuesday when he revealed his plans to retire from what has been a long and illustrious career providing commentary and analysis on Test cricket.

Michael Holding Hints At Retirement From Cricket Commentary

“I am not too sure how much farther than 2020 I will be going with commentary,” Holding said. “The last contract I signed with Sky was for one year, 2020, because I told them I could not commit to more than a year at a time,” he added.

Holding further said, “If this year gets totally destroyed (because of the pandemic), I might have to think about 2021 because I can’t just walk away from Sky, a company that has done so much good for me, after a complete dud of a season, but I can’t see myself going too much further down the road with this thing. I am 66 years old. I am no longer 36, 46 or 56.”

Michael Holding Was One Of The Deadliest Pacers Of His Time

One of the best fast bowlers to have ever played Test cricket, he was nicknamed ‘Whispering Death’ due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease.  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. Holding made his transition from radio commentator to television in 1990 when cricket in the Caribbean was broadcast on television around the world for the first time.

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