• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Interesting article thoughts welcomed??

BoyBrumby

Englishman
It is interesting. I always like to hear past greats talk of the game in their days & today. I like Holding as a commentator a lot, although I've heard some say on here he's a bit of rude man in real life. It's pretty staggering to hear that less than 30 years ago "training" consisted of a couple of laps jogging around the ground!

He's also totally dismissive of the theory that the influence of American sports has had a detrimental affect on the Windies, dismissing their current trough as "cyclical". All I can say is that they had a very long run as number one & produced dozens of great quicks in that time, it seems unusual that the well would dry so quickly & so totally.

What he says on chucking & 15 degrees is interesting too, but I'm not touching that one! :whistling
 
Last edited:

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Great interview. Always love reading/listening to Holding.

I actually agree with him regarding the West Indies problem, and blaming it on American sports. I just don't buy that at all, and I believe soon enough we will see a great West Indian fast bowler come on the scene. I wait for that day eagerly.
 

open365

International Vice-Captain
I think he makes a great point about the West Indian circle of talent, they can't expect to have a great team forever.

It happens everywhere, look at England rugby scrum halves, we had two quality ones in Bracken and Dawson in the same era, they go, and we're left with Harry Ellis and Shaun Perry.

I like Holding, he seems to be a hell of a lot cleverer than most of his colleagues, that feature he did on hyper-extension and chucking was brilliant.

I also agree with his feeling of players being over coached and not bowling side on anymore, like he said, bowling side on wasn't dangerous, it was bowling mixed after a coach has come along and told you to bowl front on that's the problem.

I'm sure that one day the West Indies will have a great side again, you only have to compare England now to the team 7 years ago and you will see that it doesn't take a century to build a good side.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
England actually weren't anywhere near as bad in 1999 as 10 years previously...
Speaks a lot of sense (I've never come close to speaking him, so can't comment on his apparent rudeness) but it really does irritate me when you hear former bowlers bemoaning helmets.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Did you agree with the stupidity that helmets are bad for the game, and batsmen who don't have the technique to deal with them would be best hit on the head? 8-)
 

archie mac

International Coach
Richard said:
Did you agree with the stupidity that helmets are bad for the game, and batsmen who don't have the technique to deal with them would be best hit on the head? 8-)
A huge difference. A lot of batsmen today, their technique is so faulty that if they were to have that 30 years ago, they'd be dead. They now take their eyes off the ball knowing that even if it hits them on the head, the helmet will protect them. If they didn't grow up with helmets, they wouldn't have developed such bad techniques and would keep their eyes on the ball. It's a matter of the environment in which you grow up.

Is this what you are refering to?

Otherwise I must have missed the bit where he said the last line of your post?

I think he is right if Justin Langer played in the days before helmets he would be dead. I have noticed more and more batsman being struck on the head in recent times.

For a long time batsman never wore the grill part of the helmet, and even their technique was much better than the players now.
 

Top