Q&A: Mikey Holding on Fast Bowling

He was rightly called 'Whispering Death', for, even the umpires hardly noticed Michael Holding charging in to bowl. The batsmen feared him for the simple reason that he could work up pace even on placid tracks.

One of the great West Indian cricketers, Holding, who finished with 249 Test wickets at an average of 23.68, is today one of the best commentators and is known for his no-nonsense comments. He chatted with The Sportstar recently and shared his views on the game and the changes it has seen...

I don't know if you can say fast bowling has progressed. I know the entire game has progressed. Naturally, when you think the entire game has progressed you would think that the fast bowling too has moved on as well. It's pretty difficult to exactly measure how much. You'll have to assume that all aspects of the game have progressed.

Can speed be the deciding factor for a fast bowler's success?
No, certainly not. If you're bowling fast it's not necessary that the batsman has to play at every delivery. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Speed is very, very important. The quicker you are the more the trepidation for the batsman. But it's also important to have very good control. You have to put the ball more often than not in the right spot. Speed is important, control comes next.

How would you have adapted to the present day cricket?
Well, I've played on pitches like these. It's not that pitches like these are new. When you are young and when you are fast you have the opportunity to beat the batsman through the air with your pace. Depends also in the country in which you are playing. I bowled on a pitch very similar to this (Antigua) in England in 1976. I was 22 years old and in England the ball swings a lot on its own, so I was able to beat the batsmen by pace and movement. Here, in the Caribbean if you're not a young, fiery fast bowler, then pitches like these will always be difficult. It's just a matter of trying to bowl a tight line and length and trying to frustrate the batsman to make a mistake. You don't go and blast the batsman out on pitches like these.

But you did well on flat tracks also...
Because I was fired up. When you are just 22 years old you tend to try new things. We tried to win every Test match and I wanted to be part of it. I was quick and I was able to get some movement. That combined well to get me wickets.

How much importance did you give to the pitches?
It's always very important to know the surface you are going to play on. If you can read the pitch it is good. You get to know what length you would be bowling and exactly what you are going to do with the ball. Reading the playing surface is important.

What makes a fast bowler effective?
To make a fast bowler very effective the first thing is pace and the next, control, and of course the thinking behind it. If you're just a fast bowler with good control and pace I don't think you'll be as effective as someone who also thinks about his game. Being fast and accurate is fine, but you have to think about the game.

How did you use the bouncers? To always get the batsman out or just shake him up a bit?
Both. You can do it with the same delivery. A bouncer is bowled towards the body of a batsman to either have him fending and get caught or to make him to hook the ball and be caught at fine leg. Once the ball climbs into the body the batsman is going to be a little bit scared. Batsmen will tell you that they never like to face a bowler with real pace. Some handle it better than others, but none of them loves it.

How would you describe the standard of fast bowling today?
Difficult to judge for the simple reason that you have a lot more teams playing Test cricket than in my time. So, there are a lot more fast bowlers. There are three or four top teams in the world with good fast bowlers. When Allan Donald was playing he was a very good fast bowler. Or Glenn McGrath for Australia. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for Pakistan. All the teams have outstanding fast bowlers.

What motivated you to become a fast bowler?
Because of a game that we played in Jamaica. It's a Jamaican game. The game was such that you did not get to bat unless you got the batsman bowled or actually caught. If you bowled and someone else took the catch, then that person who took the catch would get to bat. This was the game that was played in a very organised manner. There were no umpires, so there was no one getting out leg-before wicket. No run-outs. The only way of getting them out was through catching yourself or bowling out the batsmen. The batsmen would even put their legs in front so that you couldn't hit the stumps so easily. So, it was natural that you tended to bowl a little bit quicker to get through their defence or hit them on the legs so that it would hurt. Then, you had a much better chance of hitting the stumps. From there I moved on to organised cricket and in the same mould I learnt to bowl fast.

What in your opinion is the best mode of dismissal?
Well, bowling a batsman out can be a very nice way of dismissal. When you can hit the stumps it's a spectacular dismissal with the stumps flying out of the ground. But sometimes getting the batsman out in the slips can be great. It depends on what's happening or transpiring in that game. Getting the batsman out according to your plan can be very satisfying.

Who was the best batsman you bowled to?
I bowled to many outstanding batsmen. In fact, two of them are on the commentary team here. Sunil Gavaskar and Geoffrey Boycott. And then Ian and Greg Chappell. People like Javed Miandad, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, to whom I bowled in one-day internationals. Graham Gooch and David Gower. They were all outstanding.

How was it bowling to Viv Richards?
I played Viv in domestic cricket and sometimes in the English county cricket championship. We had our victories. I got him out on a couple of occasions. And he got runs on a couple of occasions.

** SOURCE: The SportStar.