MACHEL ST PATRICK HEWITT: There are few obvious candidates to replace the Test skipper. But that is not enough of a reason to continue to persist with him given his woeful record at the helm
The shelf life of a modern-day international cricket captain can be compared to that of an endangered species. Operating in a ruthless global arena where gaps no longer exist in a top cricketer’s schedule can make the job of captaining and carrying the burden of your nation a treacherous terrain to traverse.
A cursory look at the different international sides sees Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson as modern-day exceptions to the rule. They continue to lead largely successful sides in the Test format after six years in the job but if one looks further afield no other example exists other than at the helm of the West Indies Cricket team.
Jason Holder has been in charge of the Men in the Maroon since 2015 when he was surprisingly thrust into the top job at the age of 23.
At the time of his appointment, then Chairman of Selectors Sir Clive Lloyd remarked: "We expect to get new thinking and new dynamism from him. Jason commands respect. He is a fine young man, very intelligent and he seems to get the best from the players because he is a straightforward guy. I think the players will warm to him. He has a young bunch of players and we feel he can guide them in the manner that is required for internationals."
Holder himself wasn’t yet an established member of the Test team and his appointment had very much come as a surprise. Denesh Ramdin, the outgoing captain, had recently overseen a 1-1 draw at home against England, so the move seemed unnecessary.
Five years later and following an - albeit predictable - humbling at the hands of New Zealand, the time has come to ask if Holder has taken this West Indies team as far as he can.
Only Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara have captained the West Indies for more Tests than Holder which puts him amongst exalted company. Yet Holder’s loss percentage stands at 57 per cent, a record worse than each of his most recent predecessors Ramdin, Daren Sammy and Chris Gayle.
There can be no doubt that Holder the player has flourished with the captaincy, having reached the rank as best Test allrounder in the world as recently as a few months ago. Holder has quite literally helped the side win Test matches due to his individual brilliance. Likewise, it is well noted amongst many cricket pundits and ex-players that Holder is an ‘impressive young man’.
If Jason Holder is stood down there is no outstanding candidate to replace him
However, being an impressive young man does not equate to being a ruthless and victorious Test captain. Arguably at this juncture of his tenure and one year into Phil Simmons re-appointment as men’s head coach, valid critiques should now be made regarding the direction of the Test side.
As alluded to when he was appointed, Holder had a resounding mandate to mould and shape a then-inexperienced side in the ‘true traditions of West Indies cricket’. In the five years since, West Indies have succeeded in only beating Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, England and Afghanistan.
None of this actually represents an improvement on his immediate predecessors who were also able to lead West Indies to wins against those sides, Sammy being the notable exception who also oversaw a home series win against New Zealand.
Of course there are mitigating factors that Holder has faced as leader, namely a weak top six that seems unable to adapt to the rigours of international cricket combined with a lack of match-winning experience at the top level. Those arguments are valid but they should not provide a safety net from scrutiny. A captain must still live or die by the results under their tenure.
They are not too dissimilar to when the decision was made to change the ODI captaincy to Kieron Pollard following four years of no series wins and a disastrous World Cup in 2019.
Cricket West Indies are once again faced with the dilemma of making a left-field selection to help revive the fortunes and culture of the Test side. Pollard hadn’t been selected for an ODI in two years when he was made captain but he was recognised as one of the few, available players in the region with proven leadership credentials.
His appointment has led to the white ball sides now playing an aggressive brand of cricket built in the mould of Pollard’s approach to captaincy.
Jason Holder has lost 21 of his 37 Tests at the helm
In West Indies' most recent ‘Covid’ series, questions have rightly been asked about Holder's seemingly negative, safety-first approach. Whilst it is established that bowling is the better of West Indies two suits – the side seems wedded to the idea of bowling first no matter the conditions. This can hardly fill his brittle batters with confidence. Further to this, on too many occasions he has allowed games to drift when the side enters a mentally fatigued state, but these are the moments when he most needs to show leadership.
The intention here is neither to disparage Holder nor in fact blame him for the repetitive failures of the Test side, the root causes are well known and it is understood that no quick fix exists.
But it does seem perplexing that Holder himself does not want to relinquish the role after five years. He may feel it is his duty to continue leading the side until someone else can be groomed but the mental toll of leading a failing side must be taking its toll.
There can only be so many times Holder can face the media and talk of the need for the team to improve in key moments before even he gets tired of the same clichés. The majority of the starting XI in England had been ever-present since 2015-16. The time for excuses has long since run out.
Mike Brearley, perhaps England’s greatest-ever skipper, said of captaincy: "A captain must instil the will to win; which means both ramming home an advantage and clinging on desperately when up against it."
The question for Cricket West Indies selectors and Holder himself is do they or him believe he is still the man to do that? If any doubt at all exists then the lack of an obvious replacement for Holder should not be the reason to carry on blindly doing the same thing.
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Posted by Huron Vidal on 19/02/2021 at 11:53
You have hit the nail on the head! Holder's captaincy has caused WI to lose many games. His "hunger"for winning is about 65%.. Braithwaite's is about 85 % from the little I saw of him in Bangladesh, and should immediately be given the job.
Posted by Alex on 20/12/2020 at 03:49
If Holder had Garner, Holding and Marshall to share the bowling with, and Greenidge, Haynes, and Richards as the first three in the batting order, he'd be a great captain! John Reid captained NZ for ten years and had only 3 wins in that time. Not the captain's fault if the players are not test class. Surely you only blame the captain when he has good players and loses.
Posted by Tony Rakhal Fraser on 19/12/2020 at 01:33
Jason Holder has not been the greatest captain; he probably does not have the capacity so to do. However, Holder is not the problem that is destroying West Indies cricket. The downward slide began and has gathered momentum over the last 20 years. But once again there are those who are refusing to become aware of the fundamental structural, social and organisational and administrative problems facing West Indies cricket and indeed societies. How man captains we have had since Viv...Richardson...Walsh...Lara...Adams....Chanders...Gayle..Sarwan...Hooper...Sammy and i probably have missed out a couple. The cricket culture of the W.I. has not changed if Holder is removed. How we are adopting and culture training our young players....socialising them ... paying attention to their mental development...organising their coaching....how we are failing to ground them in W.I. history and developing them along the path of self realisation are the outstanding approaches. Yes the captain matters...but the organisational problems are at the core of the continuing deterioration.
Posted by Terry Ghanie on 18/12/2020 at 19:43
The irony of being a captain of one's country's cricket team is that as a junior /middle policy maker you are placed on the front line when games are not won. From the players , selectors, trainers/ coaches ... it is the captain who faces the media and who alone seems to be answerable for the team's failure. The sad part with Jason Holder is that because of the poor cricketing structure of which he operates under ,he is learning he is learning both his trade and captaincy skills in the international arena, things which he should have learnt via the local and regional tournaments. The questions are: •Does Cricket West Indies ( CWI) expect Holder to take team WI through the 'Eye of the Needle ' ? • Apart from Holder who is potentially capable of belling the cat when his assumed successor ( who that maybe be) has not yet cemented their place as a player in the set up? Holder has to be careful that the pressure of captaincy do not take his game on the side's recent journey. What Jason Holder lacks is the support of player's cricketing performances ,this is an essential part of any successful cricket captain and unless that happen on a regular basis his captaincy ability will always be questioned.
Posted by Marc Evans on 18/12/2020 at 19:04
Must confess was never all that impressed with Holder as a captain, especially on the man management front. He's certainly a quality all rounder, but the Windies often showed a lack of resilience under him.
Posted by Grego on 18/12/2020 at 13:46
It surely doesn't matter who the captain is of this West Indian side, they are at a test level akin to smaller test playing nations, such as, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Ireland etc and I haven't even mentioned Bangladesh, whom are at a higher level than WI. It was quite a logical move to give Jason Holder the captaincy when they did because they were so poor at top level test match cricket they needed a surprise element and hope for the best from it but unfortunately most WI cricketers are not honed for test cricket but instead more in tune with a harlem globetrotters style travelling roadshow 20/20 cricket . In fact, so poor are their test performances abroad thevWI cricket board need to go into a test hiatus for a few years to develop the players for these assignments rather than us WI supporters seeing the team regularly humbled within 3 days and by innings wide margins everything they tour, so Jason Holder, who by the way is a terrific cricketer, is not to blame, who else would you put there?
Posted by Christopher Oneil on 18/12/2020 at 11:58
Well, well, I honestly think Bravo is the MAN for the job... Recently poor with bat, but, give him the Captaincy responsibility, and we will see a different player. This is my take on it,, or give to HEIMYER
Posted by Malek on 18/12/2020 at 10:40
I disagree that there isn't a candidate for captain of the WI. Leon Johnson of Guyana has suffered becsuse he is Guyanese even though he has shown thst he is the best leader in the region. Give him the csptaincy and I know he would turn things around. We need a true leader and the best players to get the job done. We need a real fiery 4 prong attack not those lolly pop bowlers except Gabriel. 4 men bowling at 90 plus. Look at India, they depend upon their quicks and of course they have the batsmen. We also need the best coaching staff with Curtly Ambrose and others. Why Roddy Estwick over Curtly? It's unthinkable.South Afrika gave Graham Smith the captaincy after a few first class matches. Look at his record, that's what we need. A CAPTAIN WITH A HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS
Posted by David Rimmer on 18/12/2020 at 10:07
Jason Holder has failed as captain if one judges by results. People are always keen to jump on a skipper when things go wrong particularly over a long time period without closely looking into the background. This article tries to be balanced, and yes, Holder may convey too relaxed an attitude. However, one has to look at why he has struggled. The top six by and large have been unable to impose themselves though they did enough early in 2019 to beat England. Why are the top six not good enough? Is the standard of provincial or island cricket cricket not good enough in producing batsmen that can last 200 to 300 balls in Test Cricket? It is not easy to grind away for ball after ball and wait for scoring chances if you are in the team being dominated. Are young batsmen in the WI poorly paid and as a consequence lack the incentive to go for a form of the game that will pay them little in relation to other countries? Seen in the cold light of day and irrespective of factors such as pride and determination which do NOT pay the bills, it is not surprising if some want to try one of the world T20 leagues? The fielding has to improve with the dropping of Henry Nicholls before he reached 50 in the second Test in New Zealand being a prime example. I really felt for Shannon Gabriel then. The pace attack is not as good as yesteryear but it is better than the batting and Alzarri Joseph should be persisted with. He can bat too as he demonstrated in New Zealand. It may well be time for Holder to go particularly with his wont to put opposition in when he wins the toss. However, it is a time for whoever is playing to stand up and be counted. Holder or whoever is captain cannot do the batting or catching for other people. I have nothing but praise for the way Holder has batted and bowled when he has been captain. Full marks to him for that. One more thing. Kohli has been a Test captain for the last six years but Joe Root and Kane Williamson have not been skippers for that period of time. Root took over the reins in 2017 for England's series against South Africa after Alastair Cook stepped down following the Indian tour in late 2016. Williamson did not take over the role full time for New Zealand until after his predecessor Brendon McCullum stepped down in early 2016.
Posted by Eric McLeod on 18/12/2020 at 09:53
I am a very passionate person when it comes to cricket 🏏 I follow all types of cricket but I support Team west Indies Test Game. I also try not to compare present with the past we need to move on their are different froms of Cricket today nothing is wrong with that however Management just need to protect our batsmen other games improve section of the game to new heights . My opinion the present Captin should stay on he is a young man and he can learn a lot
Posted by Anthony Ramsamooj on 18/12/2020 at 06:55
This current West Indian side is very weak and poor That is the first issue that must be addressed by the board and selectors Only then we can move forward and compete with the rest of the world Then we have to create how our management and coaches and other staff operates If you look at other sides in the world they have a comprehensive structure that works I guess it all comes down to money
Posted by Mark Coley on 18/12/2020 at 05:18
He's partly to be blamed, he's got two so called senior players in Bravo and Brathwaite who are very disappointing they should pack up and give others a chance
Posted by Rob on 18/12/2020 at 03:40
Finally I have found an article that critically assesses Holder's captaincy. Having seen their two most recent test series against England and NZ, he has to go. A captain must show some idea of how to go about winning a match, or at least not losing it. Holder seems to lead his team with the sole idea of simply playing cricket, not playing to win. As mentioned in the article, the automatic 'bowl first' choice at the toss is immediately putting his team on the back foot. This seems to be done on the basis that bowling is the stronger suit of the team. Yet they are always giving up 400+ runs in the first innings, meaning their batsmen are facing both scoreboard pressure and fatigue when they go out to bat (yes all the dropped catches by the batsmen in the field don't help). Just because you consider your batting weaker does not mean you should choose to bowl first - as M Holding succinctly put it in his criticism of Holder's decision to bowl first in England, 'you still have bat'. Second, as also mentioned in the article, he just lets the game drift away from his team - either by bowling his less incisive bowlers (which includes him now) or defensive fields. He never goes for the throat of the opposition, and when they're down, he lets them up again. Finally, he doesn't seem to hold his players to high standards. When there's a drop, a misfield, or a front foot no-ball that costs them another wicket, Holder shows a rueful smile. How about a rocket for the transgressor instead? Holder has shown to me for a while now that he has no competitive edge or nous, and he's a disaster as a test captain. While he probably deserves a spot in the side (before you laugh, he was easily the worst WI bowler in the NZ series), there has to be someone who will do a better job of leading.
Posted by Elvis on 18/12/2020 at 03:13
I believe Jason Holder can become a great leader but he needs to be more proactive in the field and West Indies current test team is a really good team. They need a whole lot of work in the consistency with batting, fielding and bowling.
Posted by Adrin Simon on 18/12/2020 at 02:47
I strongly supported is appointment as captain even though I think Dinesh Ramdin should have continued. My honest belief is that he could have become a la- Graeme Smith or Stephen Flemming with ruthless application and commitment to the job. He has not developed that killer instinct to change or kill off an innings/game when in the field and ruthlessness with his players to let them know failure is not an option. I was surprised that on both occasions he chose to field first in NZ. More so when the opposition is on top he goes ultra defensive instead of trying something aggressively different. My take is that he speaks and acts too much from management's script rather than chattering his own course. Bangladesh should be his last tour as captain and other options should be explored. As it stands the options are limited but I will go for Shimron Hetmyer and Alzarrie Joseph as captain and vice. I think they can bring that ruthlessness that is needed to push the team forward. Management will have to give them a clear mandate, scope to operate and support their approach. I wish WINDIES Cricket well irrespective of my pains and frustrations.
Posted by Sean Emery J Daniel on 18/12/2020 at 00:29
The next most likely Captain is Brooks. A former A team and U19 Captain. Alternatively a "left field" selection candidate list of Pollard, Hetmeyer or Chase
Posted by Chris on 17/12/2020 at 21:06
Not the captain, the compleate board should be dismantled, due to their poor selection and knowledge and systemic reclaim on the selection committee
Posted by Dennis Pilgrim on 17/12/2020 at 14:51
When selecting a Test team you got to have experience players too many times trying and failing , I do not want to say is because of white ball , many other teams play white ball also ,but when it come to test they perform I have watch wi series against England all the way to NZ many of the players performed bellow the standard batting fielding poorly , What happened to Left hand Opener Devin Smith Experience Test Player , Selectors must look into their selecting and Coaching Team what are they doing Especially the Batting Coach we need better for the Caribbean International Side let's bring back the good old days we can do it commitment each player should know what is their weakness and focus on that to improve their ability to perform their batting or bowling skills we need better for a Caribbean Team.
Posted by Nigel Salmon on 17/12/2020 at 11:47
The fact that there is no obvious let alone outstanding candidate available to take over totally negates the question of holder leaving the job, in my opinion. Why turn a perhaps rudderless ship into a sinking one? It wouldn't achieve anything. If holder himself decides to relinquish the job that would be totally different but I don't think he should be relieved of it
Posted by Micah Raymond on 17/12/2020 at 11:47
Jason Holder has led a West Indies team that has been very poor for near 20 years and not able to compete with Pakistan, New Zealand and England, teams we used to beat in the 70s and 80s. South Africa came out of isolation in 1991 and built such a strong and competitive squad reaching World Cup semi finals in 1992and 1999. West Indies not reached a semi final since 1996, and not won a World Cup since 1979, while Australia have won 5, and even India have won 2.
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