Was Michael Holding the mot lethal right arm fast bowler at his best and the most talented of right arm pace bowlers?

[Harsh Thakor]

Statistically he captured 249 quickest in 60 tests at an average of 23.68 and strike rate of 50.9 with 13 five wicket hauls which is below the bracket of the very greatest. In ODI’s he captured 142 scalps at an average of 21, 36, in 192 games  with an economy rate of 2.79.In test matches won Holding averaged 18.36 and captured 152 scalps .

 

 

With Andy Roberts, Holding comprised arguably the 3 best ever fast bowling ever in cricket history. Holding also as part of the pace quartet played an instrumental role in shaping West Indies into the champion test and O ne day side of all time.

 

 

 

 

Quite a number of cricketing greats have chosen Holding in their all time test XI for his all-round perfection like Mike Procter, Neil Harvey, Ray Illingworth, Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Syed Kirmani and Lawrence Rowe. Imran Khan rates Holding as the most perfect fast bowler of his time and most talented right arm paceman ever. Cristopher Martin Jenkins Holding has rated Holding at 85th place amongst 100 best cricketers of all time while John Woodcock places him at 65^th place, ahead of any great West Indies paceman. Ray Lindwall ranked Holding behind only Dennis Lillee in his era and amongst his 7 best fast bowlers ever. Len Hutton rated Holding as the best and most lethal of the then West Indian pace quartet, who in his view took too long a run up, which could have been reduced by around 10 yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When judged amongst the all-time greats at his best Holding is a strong candidate for the 5-6 most skilled pace bowlers ever. Perhaps no paceman at his best sent more shivers down the spine of opponents. and  no right arm genuine quickie possessed more natural ability than  Holding. However he never completely utilized his potential or bowling intelligence depending too much on speed for his entire career, and not blending movement, variations or slower deliveries like partner Andy Roberts. In full gear in a single spell, Holding was possibly as lethal as the greatest fast bowlers ever. If he had worked harder on his bowling like Imran or Lillee Holding may have been the best of all right arm genuinely fast bowlers. Another notable aspect that acted against his prospects was that he was consistently beset by injuries. I find it very hard to separate Michael Holding and Andy Roberts with not even a whisker separating the two giants. Holding did not reverse swing or posses a slower ball like Marshall and Roberts or was as accurate as Ambrose or Garner, but in the total package on his day could be the most effective. Taking all factors into consideration I would rank Holding amongst the Dozen  finest pace bowlers of all time,a whisker ahead of Alan Donald.I feel only Marshall,Wasim,Lillee,Mcgrath,Hadlee,Ambrose ,Steyn,Imran ,Lindwall,Trueman,and possibly Roberts rank ahead of him.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Harsh Thakor

[Jay]

No one comes close to Pakistan's trio. No one. 

 

1)Wasim wakram was the best ever I'd not for his diabetes.

2) imran khan

3) I would say mcgrath

4) waqar

5) steyn

 

And then the rest. 

[Suhaan]

31 minutes ago, MultiB48 said:

My favorites are lohmann ,Barnes and turner.

Who is  lohamann?Tony Stark Ironman?

[Vijy]

marshall was better than holding even if we stick to 1980s WI alone (and not consider other teams). heck, since I saw all of them live, I would say that roberts & croft were marginally better in tests as was the hugely underrated tony gray.

 

of course, best pacer of all time was majid khan before he gave up bowling and became an opening bat.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Vijy

[zen]

Haven't watched Holding live but was known as the Rolls Royce of fast bowlers ... I tend to rate Marshall at his peak as the best because of his versatility 

[Vijy]

2 minutes ago, MultiB48 said:

Those wi were not just quick but also very good bowlers, don't know why their skills suddenly went down with the later generations.

WI had a strong tradition of fast+skilled bowling starting with Martindale-Constantine (who did I not see), then Hall-Griffith-Gilchrist (who I saw partly), WI pace battery of 80s, and then Amby-Walsh-Bishop in the 90s. hence, it is not accurate to say that WI pace disappeared after 80s. In fact, if not for Bishop's constant injuries, I rated him higher than Walsh and a couple of 80s pace quartet.

[Vijy]

1 hour ago, MultiB48 said:

I meant those guys as well.Walsh Ambrose ,bishop,Patterson,gray were all from the late 80s and played into the 90s.

Did you see Hall, Griffith live or on YouTube.

Saw full matches of his on tape; it is such an old format that probably most don't even remember it :)

[Majestic]

Marshall and Ambrose are two standouts from Windies.

 

Third would be Andy Roberts for being the first of the great Windies quartet. Then I think Ian Bishop was quite magnificent too, he was well ahead of Courtney Walsh during the period he played in terms of effectiveness as well as fear factor. Walsh had longevity going in his favour.

 

Holding would be fourth probably.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Majestic

[jeetu]

Marshall was the best fast bowler of all time.

Among West Indies bowlers Ambrose was better than him too.

[Harsh Thakor]

12 hours ago, Majestic said:

Marshall and Ambrose are two standouts from Windies.

 

Third would be Andy Roberts for being the first of the great Windies quartet. Then I think Ian Bishop was quite magnificent too, he was well ahead of Courtney Walsh during the period he played in terms of effectiveness as well as fear factor. Walsh had longevity going in his favour.

 

Holding would be fourth probably.

Sound evaluation.Still diaereses on Walsh considering his performances on subcontinent tracks.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Harsh Thakor

[Vilander]

1 Maajid Khan

2 Moshin Khan

3 Mullah omar

4 Imran Khan

[Vijy]

8 hours ago, Majestic said:

Marshall and Ambrose are two standouts from Windies.

 

Third would be Andy Roberts for being the first of the great Windies quartet. Then I think Ian Bishop was quite magnificent too, he was well ahead of Courtney Walsh during the period he played in terms of effectiveness as well as fear factor. Walsh had longevity going in his favour.

 

Holding would be fourth probably.

that is very true. agree with all of them, but I would put Wes Hall slightly ahead of Holding too (he had more catches dropped, support was a bit weaker than 80s, etc).

[raki05]

3 hours ago, Vilander said:

1 Maajid Khan

2 Moshin Khan

3 Mullah omar

4 Imran Khan