Holder afraid of Test pigeonhole

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

All-rounder Jason Holder says he does not want to be pigeonholed as simply a Test player, but believes he has a contribution to make to Windies cricket in all three formats.

The 28-year-old, who has led the Windies in Tests for the last five years, has emerged recently as one of the world’s leading players in the longest format, where he has been ranked as the number one all-rounder for over a year now.

And though Test cricket is where he has managed to make his mark, Holder still thinks his skills and knowledge can be helpful in the white-ball versions.

“My sole focus is West Indies cricket. I just want to make that very clear,” he said in a recent interview here.

“Yes, I’m captain of the West Indies Test side and that’s obviously where the leadership side of me lies, but I think my contribution solely is to West Indies cricket. I think West Indies cricket is so diverse in many different ways and for us as players, we’ve got to understand each and everyone of us has a part to play in this whole puzzle.

“I don’t want to just segregate myself and pigeonhole myself to one particular format. Yes, I’m the captain for the Test team but as I’ve crossed formats for a number of years, I think my sole focus has been on West Indies cricket, ideally in all three formats, not only in Test cricket.”

Until last September, Holder also captained the one-day side, having led the unit since 2014. After a dismal World Cup in England last July and another series defeat to India the following month, Holder was relieved of responsibility for the one-day side.

He led the side in 86 One-Day Internationals, winning only 24 matches and losing 54. He averaged nearly 28 with the bat and snared 101 of his 136 one-day wickets.

BEST INTEREST

Holder said while “disappointed” by the move to sack him, he understood the decision had been taken in the “best interest of West Indies cricket”.

“I don’t think there is a soul in this world who would be entrusted with or given such a leadership of a Caribbean cricket team, it being taken away from you and you not feel disappointed,” he explained.

“But for me, it’s just seeing the bigger picture. They’re people who’ve been hired and employed to do a job and that’s to administrate West Indies cricket, and they will make decisions in the best interest of West Indies cricket, and if that’s the decision made, then I’ll definitely accept it and move on.”

After being relieved of the one-day captaincy, Holder then inspired Barbados Tridents to their second Caribbean Premier League title when he oversaw their capture of the regional domestic T20 franchise tournament.

The Barbadian has flourished in the Test arena. Currently, he is the highest-ranked Windies batsman at 35th in the ICC tables and is number three in the bowling charts.

Jason Holder career stats:

Matches Innings Not Outs Runs High Scores Average

Tests 40 69 11 1898 202* 32.72

ODIs 115 92 19 1821 99* 24.94

T20s 17 11 2 111 26* 12.33

Matches Innings Balls Runs Wickets Average

Tests 40 69 6541 2796 106 26.37

ODIs 115 111 5347 4948 136 36.38

T20Is 17 17 373 524 13 40.30