Holder tells us how it feels on top of the World of All-Rounders
The latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test match rankings tell the story. Jason Holder stands supreme as the Number 1 All-rounder in Test cricket – a spot he has held for over a year. The 29-year-old sat down with us recently at the team hotel in the idyllic surroundings at Gros Islet in Saint Lucia and gave some insight into his vision on the game.
The ICC’s communique following the first Betway Test listed Holder at 423 rating points – 40 points ahead Ravindra Jadeja the dynamic left-hander from India, and England talisman Ben Stokes (385). Holder is also in the Top 10 among bowlers at Number 8 with 755 points – making him the leading West Indies bowler. In the first Betway Test he took four wickets and held two sharp catches in the slip cordon.
So how did this larger-than-life figure decide that being an all-rounder was his thing.
“I felt at a young age I wanted to give myself every opportunity to be successful. I wanted to be involved in everything on the field whether it was batting, bowling, keeping wicket … everything … keep myself active and involved in the game,” he said.
Holder’s foundation was built at The St Michael School in Barbados where he honed his skills under the guidance of the late Ezra Moseley, himself a former West Indies all-rounder. Holder moved onto the historic Wanderers Cricket Club, where he joined a team with former West Indies payers Ian Bradshaw and Pedro Collins. Later, Kraigg Brathwaite, Raymon Reifer and Shayne Moseley would join the Wanderers ranks as they formed a strong team alongside Holder in the local club competitions.
“My Test cricket has gone really, really well. … One-Day cricket I really enjoy that and in T20 I’m truly now getting back into it. It can be hard going from limited overs into Test cricket. If you start with Test cricket that helps you to get in-tuned and phase into the white-ball formats.”
Holder has had some major success in his game. His finest hour was the monumental double-century at Kensington Oval against England in 2019, which gave the West Indies a 1-0 lead in the Wisden Trophy Test Series. West Indies would go on to win the series 2-1. He has also reaped success in T20s as a member of the squad which won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2016; and was the captain when Barbados Tridents lifted the Caribbean Premier League trophy back in 2019.