Veteran cricket commentator Michael Holding has revealed that he plans to hang up his microphone very soon.
The 66-year-old former West Indies fast bowler was speaking on Mason on Guest from the Cayman Islands on Tuesday when he revealed his plans to retire from what has been a long and illustrious career providing commentary and analysis on Test cricket.
Holding began his Test-commentary career in 1991 in the Caribbean and currently works with Skysports in the United Kingdom and Supersport in South Africa. But, after 29 years in the commentary booth, Holding says the end is drawing near.
“I am not too sure how much farther than 2020 I will be going with commentary,” Holding said. “The last contract I signed with Sky was for one year, 2020 because I told them I could not commit to more than a year at a time. If this year gets totally destroyed (because of the pandemic), I might have to think about 2021 because I can’t just walk away from Sky, a company that has done so much good for me, after a complete dud of a season, but I can’t see myself going too much further down the road with this thing.
“I am 66 years old. I am no longer 36, 46 or 56.”
Nicknamed Whispering Death because of his quiet approach to the wicket and his blistering pace, Holding played 60 Tests for the West Indies between 1975 and 1987. He took 249 wickets at an average of 23.68.