In 1964 19 year old John Holder arrived in London from Barbados, not to play cricket but to work for London Transport. A seriously good fast bowler, it wasn’t long before John left the bright lights behind to pursue a career with Hampshire where he played 4 seasons taking 139 wickets @ 24.5 including 13 wickets in a match against Gloucestershire and a hat-trick against Kent.
But it was as an umpire that John was to become best known officiating in 11 Tests including 2 in the 1989 Ashes series in a career spanning 27 years. Now retired in Lancashire, John is looking forward to the end of lockdown so he can get back to the gym & spend more time with his 2 grandsons.
Growing up in Barbados, what are some of your earliest cricket memories?
I was the 5th of 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls and dad taught us all to play cricket in the street outside. One of our aunts who lived nearby and who was a bit of a tomboy, used to play with us. So I started at a very young age. A love of and a passion for the game developed and as I got older my 2 brothers, 3 male cousins and other boys who lived in our small hamlet, played at every opportunity.
TV only came to Barbados in the early 70's but we listened to diffusion, a local radio station. That was where I heard about Lords, the MCG, Old Trafford, Bombay etc, when the West Indies were playing there.
Who are some of your earliest cricket heroes?
At high school, I played in the 1st team as a fast bowler. 3 of our boy's high schools each played in the island's 1st division cricket coming up against Test players like the 3 W's (Worrell, Weekes, and Walcott), Sobers, Hall, Griffith and others so it was tough for schoolboys. Those Test players were our heroes. I also remember seeing Lindwall, Miller & Harvey when I attended my first Test match in 1955, aged 10.
Tell us briefly about your cricketing journey?
I immigrated to England in 1964 to work as a train guard on the London Underground in November 1964. There were several cricket teams of West Indians like myself around London. At this time I could bowl genuinely fast and quickly got an invitation to play for the BBC from former West Indies leg spinner, Dr Bertie Clarke.
A Bajan like me, Bertie also played for the BBC but soon told me that I was wasting my time playing club cricket and recommended me to Hampshire CCC whom I joined in 1966. There were 2 West Indians already at Hampshire, Roy Marshall, a hard hitting opening batsman from Barbados and Danny Livingstone, a stylish top order batsman from Antigua. One of our opening bowlers was Derek Shackleton, a great medium pacer. Derek just hit the seam repeatedly, on a length, making it difficult for batsmen to score and if there was life in the pitch, was almost unplayable. Play was on uncovered pitches in those days.
John Holder in his playing days
In late 1972 the Aussies were due to tour the Caribbean, so the Windies Board invited many of the boys who were playing County cricket back home for trials, with a view to be selected to play against the visitors.
I, along with Keith Boyce, Gordon and Geoff Greenidge, John Shepherd, Alvin Kallicharran, Clive Lloyd etc were invited. But my back trouble flared up again and was so severe that I did not go for trials and actually wrote Hampshire to say I was retiring. No way would my back stand up to the rigours of bowling fast potentially seven days a week.
Over a period of 9 years I played also for Norden in what was then the Lancashire and Cheshire League, Slaithwaite in the Huddersfield League, Royton in the Central Lancs League and Austerlands in the Saddleworth League.
Approaching my mid 30’s I began to yearn to get back into 1st class cricket but realising that I was too old to play, opted for umpiring. That was the best decision career wise I have ever made. Umpiring ideally suited my temperament.
What was your highest score in senior cricket?
My highest first class score was 31 for Hampshire but before you think of me as a complete bunny I did score 192 not out for Norden in the Central Lancashire League
John Holder batting for Rawtenstall in the Lancashire Leagues in 1974
What were your best bowling figures in senior cricket?
The Daily Telegraph newspaper used to give a carton of champagne for the best bowling performance every week in County and Test cricket, so having taken 13 wickets against Gloucestershire, I was quite excited at the prospect of being the recipient.
That year the Aussies were touring the UK and were playing the Lords Test that very week. Bob Massie gave the cricket world a masterclass in swing bowling, easily eclipsing my 13 wicket feat and ending up with 16 wickets instead. I can clearly remember watching him, trousers stained bright red from polishing the ball, bamboozling the England batsmen with a display of high class swing bowling in both innings. Needless to say, he got the champagne instead of me.
My best in league cricket was 9 for 40 for Royton.
You played for Hampshire with Barry Richards & Gordon Greenidge – what are your fondest memories of these great players?
Richards and Greenidge joined Hampshire in 1968, the latter as a teenager just out of school. Richards immediately set about thrashing all comers, seemingly with disdain. He is technically the best batsman I have ever seen, giving the impression that he could score runs whenever he liked. It took Greenidge 2 years to make his 1st team debut but then never looked back. Powerfully built and oozing confidence and aggression, he hit the ball very hard, especially the square cut and drives down the pitch. It was said that he was at his most dangerous when he limped to the wicket.
Barry Richards
Apart from the above, who has been the best 3 batsmen you have umpired or played with or against?
In 27 years of officiating, I umpired all the great batsmen of that era but it is impossible to say who was best. Among those names were Tendulkar, Lara, Gower, Martin Crowe, the Waugh twins, Ponting, Aravinda de Silva. Jayawardena, Sangakkara and others. Standing at the bowler's end, I loved watching the battle between top class batsmen and bowlers from the best seat on the ground. It was great to be paid to watch the best players in the game from close up, in the game I loved. It was far better than working on the Underground!
Who have been the best three fast bowlers you have umpired or played with or against?
Marshall tops the fast bowlers by a short head. He had pace, swing, could bowl cutters when the pitch was unresponsive and more than anyone else could quickly read strengths and weaknesses in a batsman. Other greats were Roberts, Hadlee, Holding, McGrath, Garner, Ambrose, Walsh & Donald.
The best 3 were Marshall, McGrath and Ambrose. I have already mentioned Marshall's abilities. McGrath and Ambrose were very tall, quite quick and incredibly accurate. Both extracted a lots of bounce from the pitch and made life very hard for even the best batsmen. McGrath dismissed Lara more than any other bowler when the great West Indian was in his prime which tells you plenty.
Malcolm Marshall
Who has been the best three spinners you have umpired or played or against?
My 3 top spinners were Lance Gibbs, Warne and Muralitharan.
Gibbs was tall and with very long fingers, spun the ball hard. He was also a fierce competitor. Warne spun the ball harder than anyone else. You heard it fizz when he released it. He was very accurate, with a great cricket brain like Marshall. Muralitharan was the shortest of the trio but with exceptionally flexible joints. His wrist joint rotated so much that he put unbelievable spin on the ball and although his action looked illegal, on closer examination he did not throw.
Which are the best innings you’ve seen firsthand?
One of the best innings I saw was by Lara, in his first season for Warwickshire, at Edgbaston in the mid 90's. He scored 147 but what amazed me was his ability to hit the ball through the gaps in the field, off side and leg side, off the front and back foot. That was pure genius.
Who was the best wicket keeper you’ve seen firsthand?
The best keepers I saw were Alan Knott, towards the end of his career, Jack Russell and Ian Healy. All were excellent glove men and Healy and Knott especially were very useful batsmen. Russell was less talented with the bat but was a strong willed fighter and the only Englishman to score a century in the 1989 Ashes series.
Allan Knott
Who are the two players you admired most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you have been involved with?
My 2 most competitive, skilful players who I most admired, were Steve Waugh and Viv Richards. They were fierce, uncompromising competitors who played the game the right way.
Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to see close up?
I liked the unfussy but excellent way Steve Waugh captained the Aussies. So greatly was he respected by his team that he would make bowling and fielding changes, often without consultation. They knew he had the team's best interest at heart.
Steve Waugh
Who has been your funniest team mate?
In my playing days with Hampshire, our leg spinner Allan Castellated was very funny. He had a way with words, often leaving us in stitches.
Can you recall some banter or an exchange on the cricket field that still makes you laugh today?
The Surrey players of the 90's still remind me of a remark I made to a fellow umpire in a County match between Warwickshire and Surrey at Edgbaston. As we left the field for lunch, I had given 2 batsmen out LBW to my colleague's 1. He said to me for the players to hear, "Holder you are leading 2 to 1 but the match is not yet over and you will never beat me". I quickly replied "But at least mine are out". It was well known that he had a passion for giving LBW's. His car's personalised number plate contained the letters LBW and still do today.
Who’s your favourite cricket commentator?
Richie Benaud was by far my favourite commentator. He knew the game inside out, did not ridicule players or umpires and unlike modern commentators, knew when to keep his mouth shut. The worst for this today are Mark Nicholas, Harsha Bhogle, Pommie Mbangwa and Ian Bishop. They seem to think that the game is watched by dummies who do not know or understand the game. They should shut up!!
What was your favourite ground?
My favourite grounds were Lords and Worcester. Lords is the Mecca of the game, with an atmosphere no other ground has and the meals are world class. Many a time a fielder came to me immediately after lunch and said he had over eaten. Not only is the food excellent, you can have seconds and thirds.
John Holder gives David Gower out to the bowling of Terry Alderman
What’s been your most memorable moment in cricket?
My most memorable moment in cricket was walking onto the ground at Lords in 1988 to umpire my first Test match. It was historic because I was the first black umpire to stand in a Test match in the UK and still the first West Indian.
What’s the best win you’ve been involved with?
One of the biggest upsets was in a low-scoring 3 day County match at Lords in 1983 between Middlesex and Somerset. Batting in their second innings and with Richards at the bat, Somerset had a modest lead. Suddenly, around teatime, a huge thunderstorm flooded the ground and soaked the pitch before the covers could be deployed ending play for the day. Next morning the start was delayed because a used pitch nearby was dangerously soft. Mike Gatting the fielding captain was eager to start, saying he would accept responsibility for his players’ safety but my colleague and I said no. Ian Botham the Somerset captain did not want to play and refused to do inspections and was infuriated when we decided to start after lunch. On a rain affected pitch, the Middlesex spinners quickly bowled Somerset out with the home team needing 140 to win. They failed by 20 runs leaving Botham elated. As we left the field my colleague smilingly said to Botham "we should get some of your win bonus" to which he retorted "you 2 have gone from poor to satisfactory in my book".
Who are the three players at the top of your list for a drink?
My 3 favourite players were Matthew Maynard of Glamorgan and Robin Smith and Malcolm Marshall of Hampshire.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
The best advice I received as an umpire was never forget it is the player’s game. Too many umpires feel that they had to show that they are in charge.
You umpired your first test in 1988 and then a further 9 in the following 2 years before being on the outer until 2001 – do you know why you fell from favour?
I caught the England team scratching the ball in the 1991 Oval Test against the Windies and had words with captain Gooch about it. Despite having a very good match, I was dropped from the panel for 10 years. My last Test match was in 2001, Australia at Lords. I got 1 wrong, giving Thorpe out LBW to Lee but never did another Test match. Atherton gave me a good report and Steve Waugh, very good.
John Holder
In this era of powerful bats and short boundaries, would cricket be a better game with a degree of ball tampering?
Where do you draw the line on the amount of tampering allowed and how often will the umpires inspect the ball? The game is and has always been one of skill between batsman and bowler, not the person who can doctor the ball most effectively. It is in white ball cricket where the gap is too wide. The white ball seldom ever swings, so batsmen are free to hit through the line and out of the ground. Also boundaries are brought in for added excitement.
Was Darrell Hair right to call Murali for throwing?
If any umpire is convinced that a bowler's action is illegal, he/she must call and signal no ball. Darrell clearly thought Muralitharan was chucking.
Did you ever see evidence of match-fixing?
In 1983 Dickie Bird, David Shephard and I went to umpire an ICC ODI tournament in Sharjah, between Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Windies. The Windies were dominant and I was due to stand in the final round robin match between Sri Lanka and the Windies. On the eve of that match, a Pakistani born man approached me, offering me £10,000 sterling, cash, to make sure the Sri Lankan openers put on a minimum of 85 runs. I just told him to get lost. No way was I getting involved in anything illegal. When the scandal about match fixing broke a few years later, I was appalled. Getting involved is like stepping into a tarantula's web. There is no such thing as easy money.
David Shephard, John Holder and Dickie Bird
Are you still involved in cricket and if so, in what capacity?
I am no longer involved in cricket in any capacity.
If you were running the ICC what would be your priority to ensure cricket remained strong and successful on and off the field?
Cricket is a very expensive game and I believe that more of the wealth in the game should go to the poorer countries, like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Windies, Pakistan, Zimbabwe etc.
About Dean Tuckwell
Former premiership first grade player with Western Suburbs in Queensland Premier Cricket Dean opened The Adventure Traveller in 2000.
In this crazy year it is important to support small business. With 30 years’ experience in the travel industry Dean has preferred arrangements with many suppliers, access to online deals not available to the public and a wealth of knowledge to ensure you get the most out of your trip so even if you only require a flight or accommodation, give him a call on 1800 181 020 or visit The Adventure Traveller
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